He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.”
Mark 16:15
A long time has passed since Jesus spoke these famous words to His disciples in Jerusalem. It may seem like followers today may have failed to do this, and to make it even worse, the world is facing a crisis that has isolated us from one another. But a wise person once taught that times of crisis can be times of opportunity if you look deep enough.
Yes, with faith, determination, and of course love, even burdensome times can end up being a blessings in disguise.
There can always be great growth in hard times. The Early Church was persecuted violently. They scattered from Jerusalem to escape the harsh conditions, but in doing so, they took the Gospel with them and shared the message with other regions. They expanded the gospel even when Saul spearheaded a great persecution against them. And of course, when mankind’s evil was at its apex, God did not run away. But instead showed the great light of love and gave us the gift of salvation through Jesus on the cross. (See 1 Peter 4:12-16, Acts 8:1-3)
God is always at work, advancing His will and His history in our lives. And even in this time we can see great opportunities to be a witness through technology, advancing the gospel to every nation, to all people created by God.
The Lord just needs us to keep the faith. As noted by Christian History Magazine “Without radio or television, he [Dwight L. Moody] reached 100 million people,” It’s amazing what God can do with faith alone.
The world in its current state is opening its eyes to the fearful position that all humans are finite, limited, and mortal. The call to be “fishers of men” is not just the words to the disciples. They are also spoken to us. We are fishers of people and out net is the truth. We can use various creative methods to share that truth, even through this pandemic.
Every one of us has an opportunity to share, even a bit of the good news of Jesus Christ. Today, this message has the possibility to reach even more people than Peter on Pentecost.
What a marvelous time to be alive and a part of God’s work of online Gospel spreading.