Colossians 1:6 The gospel that has come to you. All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God’s grace in all its truth.

We toss the word, Gospel, around rather casually, when as this verse indicates, it is a thing of great power. On the face of it, it seems simple, expressed succinctly in John 3:16, but it has incredible depth. It includes everything my father wrote about in his PhD dissertation on In Christ, and even more than that. That’s why Paul says here, “since you really understood it,” as the Japanese translates it. The thing is, there is so much depth to the Gospel that our understanding should keep growing as long as we are on this earth. Of course, as Paul noted to the Corinthians, “Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” (1 Corinthians 13:12) One thing we have to look forward to in heaven is finally under­standing the Gospel fully, and how we and everyone else fits into it in God’s incredible plan. One of our greatest privileges in this life is in sharing the Gospel, as imperfect as our understanding of it is. We don’t know it all, but we know enough to get someone saved, just as we were. We aren’t to wait for perfect understanding before we share. Doing that would mean no one would share! As has been said, evangelism is one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread. We need to remember that the Gospel at its heart isn’t information, it’s a Person, the Lord Jesus Christ, who loves us so incredibly. Evangelism isn’t abstract teaching, it’s introducing people to the One they have always needed and wanted to know, even if they didn’t realize it. To do that, we’ve got to be on good terms with Him ourselves, so as my father often said, we’ve got to keep giving all we know of ourselves to all we know of Christ, because our knowledge keeps growing on both sides of that equation.

Of course, this applies to me as much as it does to anyone else. I don’t feel gifted as an evangelist, but I do love to tell people about Jesus. The problem is in their recognizing their need for Him, and Japanese culture can be a big hindrance to that. However, nothing is impossible for God, so I’ve got to keep sharing the Gospel at every opportunity the Lord gives me. I’ll be leading a Christmas party for my nursing school students the day after tomorrow, and I always share the true story of Christmas at such occasions, since many of the students literally don’t know it. I’ve never heard that anyone became a Christian because of those parties, and this is the 42^nd year to hold them, but God knows the fruit those seeds have born, even though I don’t. I’m to remember that it’s His Gospel, and trust Him with it on every level.

Father, ministry in Japan can be discouraging, given the low “rate of return,” but You love these people more than I do. I pray that Your will may be done in this nation, tearing apart the lies of the devil that have bound them for so long, for a great harvest in Your kingdom, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!