John 1:1-5 – In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
When we read the Gospels, we are reading Jesus. We are reading an account of Who is and was – how He lived and loved. We learn how to live like Him. We learn to have an abundant life through Him by getting closer to Him via His Word. I think this is why we see the apostle John open his Gospel with Jesus being the Word. The Word being Jesus gives us life. Apart from Jesus, there is no life and no hope.
That idea is a little scary, because what about our friends and family whom we love that don’t have Jesus? The sad truth is that they don’t have the life or the hope… BUT Jesus can use us to change that!
I initially chose the Gospel of John for reference, because it tends to be more relationally-focused than the other Gospels. About a quarter of it is Jesus having dinner with His disciples. The Gospel is the good news about Jesus wanting to have a relationship with us. I think one of the best ways for the lost to find Jesus is through their relationships with those that have Him. That’s also why I pointed out the scary thought of our loved ones not having life and hope in Him. Jesus can reach them through us! If we truly love Jesus and we truly love our friends & family, we will want them to have the Word of life.
How do we go about sharing that Word with them? Better yet, how do we initiate time to read the Word with our loved ones? I think we keep it simple. Remember we are just trying to share love with those we care about. I recommend simply asking to read the Gospel of John with them. Read the Gospel that shows how relational Jesus is.
This might seem a little intimidating, but when you think about it, all you are really doing is asking your friend or family member to spend some time with you. While it sounds too simple, I’d be hard pressed to believe they would say no. Don’t do a ton when you’re together. Start with a chapter at most. As you read, ask them two things:
- What sticks out to you in this passage?
- Is there anything you don’t understand?
This helps keep them engaged and not just listening to you talk the whole time.
If you’re worried that you’re not “qualified” to do a Bible study with them, remember this:
- It may be their first time reading the Word, and they’re not Bible scholars – so don’t be afraid.
If that’s still not enough encouragement, I recommend to you two sources to give you tips just in case you need them.
Both of these commentaries are great sources that can give you easy knowledge that isn’t hard to understand.
I want people I love to know Jesus. I don’t want to spend eternity without my loved ones, so I do this simple reading plan with them. Personally, there are six people that I’m currently doing this with. It brings more joy to me than most anything else, because I not only get to spend time with someone I care about, but I also get to see Jesus make sense in their life.
I encourage you to do this, friends!
Pastor Casey
