I am a father to three adult children, and am proud of them all and of the many things they have achieved in life. Like any Dad one thing I particularly love is when I hear people speaking well of my children, and a cause of sorrow is when I hear the opposite. I remember looking around the room at school parents’ evenings and realising that my experience is not atypical!
But, of course, human fatherhood is but a miniscule and pale shadow of the fatherhood of God.
When God the Father looked down on Jesus, he said “this is my son in whom I am well pleased” (Lk 3:22), and the Spirit descended upon him like a dove. I am convinced that it thrills the heart of God the Father when people speak well of his son.
The Spirit too loves the Son and urges us on in speaking well of Him. You can sense something of the joy of God when we speak well of Him. Indeed we’re told that when one sinner repents the angels in heaven rejoice. Why is that? Because there’s one more person speaking well of the Son, one more person bowing the knee before the Lordship of Jesus Christ, one more person who has seen something of the glory of Christ. The Spirit urges us on in evangelism as we go into the world speaking well of Christ. It gives joy to the heart of God the Father when we speak well of his Son and when others come to a saving knowledge of Him.
Don’t you experience the joy and delight of the Spirit within you when people come to Christ? When we ‘walk in step with the Spirit’, our spirit resonates with His Spirit as we speak well of Christ! We also get a glimpse of the joy which resounds in heaven when one sinner repents, when a prodigal comes home, and the Father orders a banquet to celebrate their homecoming.
The double delight of evangelism is that we glimpse the joy of the Lord in hearing others speak well of His Son, and the joy of the Lord when a prodigal comes home.
Prayer: Thank you Lord for the joy we experience when we join you in honouring your only Son Jesus by speaking well of Him here on earth! Send us out to share your word with renewed fervour, and fill us with your joy as we go. Amen.