Announcing the Good News

My whole family are sports nuts.  So as a kid, I myself was a huge Boston sports fan.  I mean, I loved the Red Sox, the Patriots, even the Bruins, all the players.  But I don’t think any of them compared to the Celtics for me.  Oh, Larry Bird, and Kevin McHale, and Chief and Max and Gerald Henderson and DJ and Ainge.  Then Walton.  I was a true fanatic, I mean I watched every game on TV.  They were gods to me.

Now, let me set this up for you.  My brother and I shared a room on the 2nd and top floor of the house.  On the first floor right below us was the living room.  So, imagine, my mother and father watching TV on the first floor in the living room, maybe my brother is in the kitchen on the same floor, and I am in my room watching the Celtics, door closed.

All of a sudden, Larry Bird hits a three-pointer, and the Celtics are being the awesome, unbeatable Celtics again, leading by 20.  What do I do?  Of course, I open my door and I announce it from the top of the stairs to the rest of the house.  Every time.  See, I loved the Celtics and I was amazed by them, and I couldn’t hold back from announcing the good news that I witnessed. 

The Lord sends the people who follow Him on a mission, and He tells them, “What you hear whispered, proclaim upon the housetops.” (Mt 10:27).  After Pentecost, 12 men and a bunch of women change the world doing this.  They can’t help but announce the good news.  What’s happened?  What qualifies them?  It’s just one thing: they’ve seen the awesome, unbeatable God driving out fear and despair and doubt and illness, healing brokenness and raising up all the low.  They love God and are amazed by Him.

The Lord invites us to come to the Christmas manger so that we can experience His intimacy and be a witness to who He really is.  There is only one qualification: He needs people who will tune in to Him and what He is doing, and who will let themselves be inspired and amazed.  Don’t worry about the rest.  If you go and come to Him, I assure you, you will be in awe.  And you’ll have no problem announcing the good news.