The religion of Jesus begins with the word come. “Come to me all you who labour and are overburdened.” “Come and see where I live.” “Come and I will give you rest.” Jesus asks us to open the door of our hearts to him. He wants a personal relationship with each one of us. He wishes to satisfy the deeper longings we have within.
If the religion of Jesus begins with the word come it also ends with the word go. “Go, teach all nations.” “Go, baptise in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.” “Go out to the whole world and proclaim the good news.” Jesus wants us to share our faith experience, to tell others what he has done for us, to pass on what has been passed to us, to give what we have received.
There are of course different ways of sharing the good news of Jesus. Some leave home for Jesus; most stay at home for him. Some are what we can call frontier missionaries; the majority are local missionaries. Whether we travel for Jesus or remain at home for Jesus, we witness to him by what we say and by what we do. The words we speak are important. They are an expression of what is dear to us. In a culture that is becoming increasingly secular it is not easy to acknowledge our faith in Jesus and in his values. But we can no longer be shy about our religious convictions and be private about our beliefs. Jesus asks us to be courageous, to tell the world about him. And the world needs to hear what we have to say.
Of course, it is what we do more than what we say that has the greater impact. Actions do speak louder than words. Actions reveal the authenticity of our words. As followers of Jesus, we must be willing to walk the walk as well as talk the talk. We best proclaim the gospel of Jesus by the witness of our lives, by the way to live. There is no better add for Christianity than a life well lived. William Wordsworth once wrote, “The best portion of a good man’s life is his little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and love.” It is not necessarily big achievements and projects that best witness to our faith. There are very few who have opportunities to do great things. For most of us, it is our little acts of kindness and love.
The religion of Jesus begins with the word come and ends with the word go. It is a dynamic religion, a constant flow of life and love. It is built around two movements, one of receiving, the other of giving. We need to participate in both. If we do we will experience a peace and joy the world cannot offer us.