I noticed a theme. After Hurricane Beryl, I deployed to Carriacou Island as a chaplain with a humanitarian aid team offering supplies and healthcare. Beryl damaged or destroyed most of the island’s buildings. It impacted all of the people.
I listened to one man’s story and views on religion for 20 minutes. Finally, he stopped. “Just tell me one simple thing that is true,” he said, “without cluttering it with many words!” Another man was cooking meals for his neighbors. He stepped out to meet me in the street. After a brief chat he said, “Since you’re a pastor, what is your message?” A few blocks away, a man sitting on the porch of his damaged home called out, “Come and talk to me!” (He was quite the philosopher!) Another man said, “You’re deeper in the Bible than me, so explain it to me!”
Do you see the theme among these four men? They all wanted to hear my message, which is simple, really. It’s Jesus’ words to Nicodemus. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16). As I offered Jesus’ message to these men, two seemed unmoved (for now!), one agreed, and one decided to believe in Jesus in that moment. Now he and I have the same message, one of faith and hope.
In Acts, we read about people asking followers of Jesus about their message. Cornelius told Peter, “We are all here present before God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord” (10:33). A Roman proconsul “summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God” (13:7). The philosophers in Athens asked Paul, “May we know what this new teaching is which you are proclaiming?” (17:19).
Here’s my question for you: What is your message? Is it true? Is it hopeful? Are you “ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you” (1 Pet 3:15)?