A few years ago, as we were preparing for our first day of ministry in Kenya, Africa, my pastor, Eric Clark, shared some advice with our team that I’ll choose to keep in the forefront of my mind for the rest of my days.
Fill every moment with the Gospel.
The Gospel is worthy of every moment. Time is valuable, especially on a short term mission trip like the one we were on, and Eric was faithful to remind us that our mission was to expose people to the truth of the Gospel by our joy, our recollection of scripture, and by our love. Sometimes that may have looked like allowing 700 elementary aged Kenyans to chase us around a huge field, or entertaining them by attempting to jump over a stick (see the pic below for context). Often it looked like sitting still while they rubbed their fingers through your hair because they’d never seen a mzungu before. (a mzungu is a person of European descent aka a white person) Then there are the things you might expect, such as sharing bible stories through puppets made of construction paper, or recalling the resurrection with a carton of eggs. My personal favorite was shouting “ninakupenda na Yesu anakupenda” surrounded by the sweetest group of elementary aged students. (That translates to I love you and Jesus loves you.) No matter what we were doing, where we were, or what we had, we were instructed and equipped to fill every moment with the Gospel.
As I sought these opportunities, learning to find the Gospel in every moment, I began to understand how neat it is that the heartbeat of scripture, the good news of Jesus, is intricately woven into every second of the day. Honestly, we don’t have to look that hard to find it, but we do have to look.
When I began to talk through this t-shirt with Ragamuffin Co, I knew that I wanted to incorporate this idea, but wasn’t sure how to do that. After a while, we landed on the design that’s pictured below! I am hopeful that this shirt equips you, not only to be the most stylish kid on the block, but to have Gospel conversations.
The symbols above the phrase “fill every moment” are representative of four of the most crucial elements of the passion story. As Jesus rode into the city on a donkey a week before his crucifixion, the people honored his entry by laying their cloaks and palm leaves on the ground before him as they might have done for royalty. All the while the people shouted “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” The scriptures reveal to us that Jesus would spend this week teaching and loving people no differently than any other time. Judas, a disciple, would betray Jesus and deliver him to the authorities. Jesus appeared before a council, was delivered to Pilate, and sentenced to death by the people. Before the process of crucifixion began, the Roman soldiers stripped him of his clothes, wrapped him in a scarlet robe, bestowed upon him the crown of thorns, a reed in his right hand, and mocked him by kneeling before him and saying “Hail King of the Jews!” When they had finished their mockery, they removed the robe, struck him in the head with the reed, and put his own clothes back on him before leading him away to crucify him. The journey to his death was a long and grueling one that ended atop a hill. The soldiers wrote the charge against him above his head: “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.” After being nailed to the cross, Jesus hung as the people, again, mocked him. Before his death, Jesus said, “It is finished”, bowed his head, and committed his spirit into the hands of God. For three days he remained in the tomb, his body lifeless, guarded by the soldiers as the rulers suspected that someone may attempt to steal the body in order to fulfill the words of Jesus.
“Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.” This account is from the twentieth chapter of the book of John and brings us to the point when we realize that the tomb is empty. Mary reports this as though someone has removed his body, but the angels appear to her to set the record straight. Jesus breathed life again and proceeded to appear to some of the disciples before finally ascending to the right hand of the Father.
This is all necessary and exists as God’s response to the sin imputed upon humanity by the actions of our pals Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. We find hope and peace in the fact that God cares for us to the point that he would take on flesh, dwell among us, and bear the punishment for our disobedience. If you’re interested in hearing more or having a conversation about this Gospel, lemme know. I’d be honored to chat with you.
With all that being said, BUY MY T-SHIRT! They are $25.00 for one, BUT if you buy more than one, you’ll get them all for $20.00 apiece. So go in with a friend or buy two colors! 🙂 Thanks again for your support in this endeavor.
Your pal,
AWM
