Jesus, Hope of the World
07/29/08 07:33 Filed in: Hope
If we are to be persuasive witnesses of the Gospel message, our daily lives must be exemplars of the one thing Jesus gave to everyone He encountered, and that is, "hope." The Gospels are called the Good News because they are positive, affirming, uplifting and hope-filled. So must we be.
“And he said to them: Go ye into the whole world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” (Mark 16: 9-15)
Jesus was such a strong leader that He convinced His apostles they could convert the entire world. We, too, are called to be missionaries. Our mission field may not lie in some impoverished, far off Third World country, but rather closer to home; maybe even in our own parish, our own neighborhood, our own street, house and family.
If we are to be persuasive witnesses of the Gospel message, our daily lives must be exemplars of the one thing Jesus gave to everyone He encountered, and that is, "hope." The Gospels are called the Good News because they are positive, affirming, uplifting and hope-filled. So must we be.
We all have a spiritual aura that others feel intuitively in their gut as soon as they meet us. Without realizing it, they form snap judgments about the kind of person we are.
In fact, recent research by Princeton University showed that we decide within one-tenth of a second whether a new acquaintance is trustworthy. Given more time, people's initial reactions seldom change. In fact, another study published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships revealed that people decide within 10 minutes of meeting us what kind of relationship they want to have.
We can't expect everyone to be attracted to us; some personalities simply mesh better than others. Even Jesus didn't get along with everyone He met; but Christ was always affirming and exhorting other people. He planted the seeds of hope by being positive, supportive and, at times, challenging.
Jesus never traveled far from His hometown; yet, His message of hope has traveled the globe, attracting multitudes down through the centuries.
Most of us will never travel far from our hometown. We'll never get to Nicaragua, Niger, Indonesia, or some other Third World missionary territory. But we do have many wonderful missionary opportunities closer to home. There's no telling who might be attracted to the Lord by the way we live out the Gospel message of hope.
Jesus was such a strong leader that He convinced His apostles they could convert the entire world. We, too, are called to be missionaries. Our mission field may not lie in some impoverished, far off Third World country, but rather closer to home; maybe even in our own parish, our own neighborhood, our own street, house and family.
If we are to be persuasive witnesses of the Gospel message, our daily lives must be exemplars of the one thing Jesus gave to everyone He encountered, and that is, "hope." The Gospels are called the Good News because they are positive, affirming, uplifting and hope-filled. So must we be.
We all have a spiritual aura that others feel intuitively in their gut as soon as they meet us. Without realizing it, they form snap judgments about the kind of person we are.
In fact, recent research by Princeton University showed that we decide within one-tenth of a second whether a new acquaintance is trustworthy. Given more time, people's initial reactions seldom change. In fact, another study published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships revealed that people decide within 10 minutes of meeting us what kind of relationship they want to have.
We can't expect everyone to be attracted to us; some personalities simply mesh better than others. Even Jesus didn't get along with everyone He met; but Christ was always affirming and exhorting other people. He planted the seeds of hope by being positive, supportive and, at times, challenging.
Jesus never traveled far from His hometown; yet, His message of hope has traveled the globe, attracting multitudes down through the centuries.
Most of us will never travel far from our hometown. We'll never get to Nicaragua, Niger, Indonesia, or some other Third World missionary territory. But we do have many wonderful missionary opportunities closer to home. There's no telling who might be attracted to the Lord by the way we live out the Gospel message of hope.
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