For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile – the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him … How can they hear [the Gospel] without someone preaching to them? (Romans 10:12, 14)

We live in a pretty “preach-y” world, don’t we?  How many times a day are we “preached” to, by advertisers, politicians, pundits, experts, influencers, and molders of public opinion?  We hate “being preached at” and are preached at all the time!  And, if we’re honest, we can sometimes get a bit preachy ourselves.

So when Paul writes, “How can they hear without someone preaching to them,” it can be easy for our brains to shut down.  “I am not a preacher or an evangelist,” we say to ourselves.  We remember, perhaps, our past efforts at sharing our faith and the various ways that may not have gone so well.  We may have been trained in several how-to-share-the-faith programs, but haven’t seen much fruit from our efforts.  We may have been the objects of some less-than-ideal evangelizing. 

Paul’s Really Big Idea is that the Good News of Jesus really is good news, for everyone, everywhere.  It really matters whether people know, love and follow Jesus.  What we believe matters in time and for eternity.  And the Good News is just that: it’s so good, and it really is news!  It isn’t good advice, or rules about how to be good, or good for those messed-up folks over there, or good just for already-in-good-shape folks like us over here.  It is the NEWS that God has acted in Jesus Christ to do for us and for the world what we could never do for ourselves: bring us out of our enslavement to sin and death and into God’s life.

So here’s the challenge for us: how can we each and together become part of God’s communication effort?  How can we communicate without becoming “preachy”?  Not neglecting “showing” the goodness of God through what we do; just adding to that some growth in learning how to communicate with/in words what we seek to demonstrate with our lives.

Because everyone, everywhere deserves to hear the Good News!  Those far across the world, and even (and especially!) those we bump up against all the time!

What is one small but practical step the Spirit is inviting you to take to grow as a communicator of Good News?  Perhaps you could start praying for the folks you know you’re going to be with today, pray that you and they would be open to “unexpected conversations.”  Maybe you could write down your personal faith story, just to have it fresh.  Maybe discuss with some friends or in small group questions like, “How might I respond when someone says __________?” Or you could …?