Show & Tell

It’s been a long time since I was in elementary school but I can still remember that in the first and second grades, we would sometimes have a class period called “show and tell.” Each student would bring something to class that was unique to him or her to show fellow students and tell them about it. Truthfully, the only “show and tell” moments I actually remember were the ones that happened after our summer breaks when students would “show and tell” about their vacation trips. It was usually fun to hear where others had traveled and what they had done during our absence from one another. I even remember daydreaming at times about the places they described and thinking that maybe I’d go there myself some day.

It may seem elementary to use this childhood concept with today’s Internet savvy culture, but it really is one of the most important aspects of having a spiritually significant impact on our communities.

For much of our Christian lives, we have been told that we need to present the Gospel to our friends/neighbors before it is too late for them to believe on Christ, and I passionately agree with that assessment. You and I should know unequivocally the importance of placing the message of the Gospel within the reach of everyone who is without Christ, especially those closest to us. The problem is that people are less familiar today with biblical truth and much more pluralistic in their thinking about religion. It’s not uncommon for me to hear someone respond with something like, “I’m glad that works for you (meaning my religious experience), but it just doesn’t work for me.” If the facts be known, most of these people have never even seriously considered the true claims of Christ, let alone heard a clear Gospel presentation. Consequently, this is little more than a brush-off to keep from hearing the message that changes lives and eternal destinies. But I think most would agree that people are far more skeptical than ever about many things, and religion is certainly one of them. Then how do we break through these tough exteriors to get to the heart of the matter?

I believe that one of the most effective means is in showing the Gospel, not just telling people the Gospel. The old saying goes, “People don’t care how much you know (or whom you know), until they know how much you care.” In other words, random acts of kindness and deeds of Christ-like love have an incredible way of opening doors when other approaches fall short.

Thankfully, many of us have been well-schooled in telling the Gospel, but not nearly as many of us have been well-prepared for showing the Gospel in practical ways. This is a way of life that involves having a Christ-like testimony and holding closely our Christian values, but it involves many other practical things, as well. Things like getting involved in our community by doing projects that are beneficial to others, building authentic relationships with unbelievers who we can influence for eternity, and making ourselves a blessing to non-believers in literally hundreds of simple, but profound ways.

A little kindness and concern is able to build bridges over which you or someone else may cross and take the message of Christ's salvation. These simple acts of love are a means of gaining a hearing for the Gospel by showing others how Christ makes a difference in your life. Being a witness for Christ certainly involves telling the Gospel story, but it is so much more than that alone. It is the many good things we do that prepare the soil of a person’s heart to make him or her receptive to the implanting of the “seed” of the Gospel. In today’s culture, you have to earn the right to be heard before some people will listen.

So, class, it’s “show and tell” time. How many people are you presently and practically showing the love of Christ? Please don’t neglect to TELL them the Gospel, but you may need to SHOW them the Gospel first. Notice the word order carefully. It is called “show and tell.”