Week 4: Delighting in the Advent of Christ

Go Tell

How beautiful upon the mountain are the feet of him who brings good news, who proclaims peace, who brings glad tiding of good things, who proclaims salvation, who says in Zion, ‘Your God reigns!

Isaiah 52:7a

She sat across from me on the couch, her hands clenched as if holding herself together while tears formed in her eyes. Each hard-fought word revealed the depth of her pain. I quietly prayed, asking God to speak through me. I desperately needed Him to meet us in this moment. He alone was her answer—but how would I share Jesus with her?

With each word she spoke, I sensed His life-giving voice speaking to my heart: Tell her I love her. Tell her I’m with her. Tell her I see her pain. I came to save her.

I am guilty of thinking evangelism happens on street corners, church pulpits, or through people far more gifted and spiritual than me. But God’s love is often spread in the most intimate settings—living room couches, kitchen tables, frantic phone calls, hospital rooms, and coffee shops—when one heart desperately cries out to a trusted soul and the good news of Jesus is shared in response. That’s evangelism. Going and telling about Jesus isn’t reserved for church sanctuaries or far-away mission fields. It is meant to happen in our everyday places with everyday people.

I wonder—do we…do I—miss everyday opportunities to go and tell of His great, saving love to those hurting all around me? Do I downplay the intimate moments while seeking the grand ones? Do I feel unqualified?

On that ordinary, everyday night, the shepherds were in their fields, watching their flocks when the angel of the Lord appeared. The shepherds were considered society’s overlooked people—socially invisible and uneducated—yet they were the first to hear the good news of Jesus’ birth. And when they did, a worship service broke out. The heavenly host began praising God.

The shepherds didn’t hesitate, analyze, or wait for more details. They ran to Jesus and then told everyone the good news of His saving love. The Savior of the world had been born, and people needed to know. It was life-changing, heart-shaping, comfort-giving truth. They couldn’t contain it.

Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them
concerning this Child. Luke 2:17

We’ve all heard the familiar Christmas song Go Tell It on the Mountain, a favorite of mine since childhood. The song proclaims:

While shepherds kept their watching
O'er silent flocks by night,
Behold thru-out the heavens
There shone a holy light.

The shepherds feared and trembled
When lo! above the earth
Rang out the angel chorus
That hailed our Savior's birth.

Down in a lowly manger
The humble Christ was born,
And God sent us salvation

Go, tell it on the mountain,
Over the hills and everywhere.
Go, tell it on the mountain
That Jesus Christ is born.

As we celebrate Jesus’ birth, what might it look like for you to go and tell of His great, saving love? He doesn’t ask most of us to travel far to share it; He simply commands us to do so in our everyday places, with our everyday people—those who are hurting, searching, and in need. Who can you go and tell that Jesus Christ is born?

Prayer

Thank You, God, for sending us Your Son, Jesus Christ—the greatest news the world has ever known. This good news was never meant to be contained but shared. Forgive me for the times I have been afraid to speak up, or when I have walked alongside someone who was hurting and failed to reflect Your love. Give me courage. Give me holy boldness. Give me the words to speak in each encounter You place before me. Open my eyes to see every opportunity around me and every heart in need of Your saving grace. May my life, my words, and my actions point others to the hope found in Jesus. Amen.