At the end of the Gospel of Matthew, we hear that Christ has entrusted us with making disciples – with the mission of growing the Church. Yet, how often does the enactment of our faith become solely about ourselves, rather than actively sharing the good news of who Christ is? If Christ is at the center of our lives, do we seek ways to share His good news?
Recently, I came across the author Simon Sinek’s TED talk entitled “How Great Leaders Inspire Action.” In the talk, Sinek addresses why people are driven to purchase a product from a company and breaks down what makes certain products more attractive than others of comparable merit. His punch line is this: People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it.
I used to think that friends, coworkers, and even strangers would, without effort on my part, somehow know that I’m a Christian by just observing my actions. As it turns out, I realized that most actions – at least those falling short of saintly ones – can be easily mistaken for simply being a “nice person.” But our commitment to Christ and a trajectory toward eternal life isn’t something we can afford to simply keep to ourselves, hoping for others to notice. Instead, our evangelization requires context, interaction, and engagement in which we share with others Christ’s role at the center of our lives.
Friends, in our effort to make disciples, our words and actions are the "product," the what. However, it’s Christ who is our purpose, our why. Our purpose is rooted in His promises of joy, of God revealing himself to us, and the hope of eternal life. These are all reasons for which we seek Him. How can we not excitedly share that in great depth with those around us? Why settle for only hoping that others understand our why through their observations?
Perhaps this is a more appropriate punch line in the context of our charge as disciples: People don’t come to faith by simply by observing your words and actions; rather they seek it because of Christ who inspires you.
Reflection by Nick MacKinnon ’14
