Imagine that the worst has happened to our world and a pandemic disease with a 100% fatality rate infected every living person. There would be mass hopelessness and despair as death mercilessly swallowed up one life after another.
Imagine also a man who discovered the cure, of which only one dose would immediately reverse the affects of the disease in anyone who took it, no matter how advanced their infection had become.
He gave unlimited free supplies to his friends and told them to go into all the world and share it with everyone and save them from certain death.
But there was a mixed response. Only a few of them actually carried out their great commission.
Some of them spent all their time and money erecting great monuments and built beautiful buildings to honor the man who discovered this wonderful cure, but left little or no time to actually give the cure away.
Some of them spent all of their time in solitude, studying the writings of the man and the process of how the cure was formulated, even disputing among each other about how the cure should be taken and whether its effectiveness is really permanent. They insisted that years of study were necessary to be able to administer to cure to others. But they, too, spent very little effort in actually giving the cure to those who were perishing all around them.
Some of them intentionally kept the cure to themselves. Afraid of being reinfected, they refused to go near anyone carrying the disease, and only associated with people who also had been cured. They did everything they could to avoid the sick people.
Others were too busy carrying on their own affairs to be bothered with the plight of their families, friends, and neighbors. Day after day, they passed person after person who desperately needed the cure they possessed. But they didn’t stop to help. After all, life is too busy. Who has the time to rescue a dying person?
Still others were too insecure to give the cure away. Fearing rejection, they thought no one would believe them or even be interested in healing, so they ignored the cries of the sick and dying, tried their best to blend in, and kept the cure to themselves. A few of them consoled themselves with the fact that they kept doses of the cure on them in case anyone asked why they looked different than everybody else.
Then there were those who faithfully and earnestly spent their life diving into the heart of infected zones and giving the cure to as many as they could. All their resources were directed towards this noble cause. Masses were healed and set free by their heroic efforts.
Tragically, rather than enjoying the company and support of the rest of those who were healed, they endured the criticism of those who didn’t share their passion for saving the dying world. But they persevered and pressed on, introducing the cure into new areas, pioneering efforts to reach even the most remote people groups.
Motivated by compassion and love, they selflessly spent their own lives, sparing no effort to reach those who were perishing, and reached the world with the cure.
What if such a world existed? Could you imagine if such a story were, in fact, true? Imagine that, Christian. Imagine it.
Is not the gospel news worth spreading? Is not the blood of Christ the ultimate cure to a fate worse than death itself?
In Mark 16:15, Jesus told us, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.”
Are you sharing it? How are you doing your part in reaching your world?