WHAT
DO WE TRANSMIT AND COMMUNICATE IN LIFE?
As we live in the last days, we should be acutely aware of our calling to
be good witnesses for the Lord and indeed one aspect of our witness would be in
the area of what we transmit and communicate in our daily living. Whether we
like it or not, what we transmit and communicate in life would affect others,
either positively or negatively. Others are watching how we live our lives, the
values we hold and the choices we make day
by day. Every action or reaction, every word we utter - all these are being
observed and evaluated - there is transmission all the time and we are
communicating even without our realising it.
Let us ponder over what Moses said to the people of Israel in Deuteronomy
4:9-10. Although Moses was addressing the Israelites, the principles are
applicable to us too. The Israelites were specifically instructed to make known
to their sons and grandsons the ways and deeds of God and they were to teach
their children to remember and to honour the Lord God. Here we see the special
responsibility of parents to communicate and to transmit the truths and
teachings of God to their children and subsequent generations. Even for those
who are not parents, the principles are still applicable as they have the
responsibility and privilege to nurture and to help spiritual children regarding
the ways of God. Those who are older and wiser in the Lord should help the
younger and the more inexperienced
to grow in their knowledge of God and His ways. In this manner, the
responsibility of communication and transmission applies to all, parents and
non-parents alike.
It is interesting to take note that in this passage in Deuteronomy, the
first thing that was highlighted to the Israelites
was for them to take care of their own lives
and to keep their souls diligently. This must take precedence before
there can be any process of transmission and communication. After all, what is
it that one can transmit spiritually if there is no substance for any form of
transmission? So it is that many Christian parents today for example may be
concerned for their children's moral and spiritual development and yet, in terms
of their own lives and spiritual reality, it is truly lacking. Many of God's
children may be critical of other believers and may desire to help them to grow
spiritually and yet, for their own lives, there is very little substance and
stature for any meaningful communication and transmission of life. One needs to
pay attention to one's own life and development first before proceeding to
communicate and to transmit. One must be in a position to minister, otherwise,
one has virtually nothing that is truly helpful spiritually and
eternally to transmit and communicate. So as we look at the subject of
transmission and communication, we must first take a look at the subject of
giving priority to our own development. We must learn, grow and consolidate in
order to be effective for the Lord. This is a continual process. Learning,
growing and consolidating - they are taking place all the time and at the same
time as we grow and learn, we are also communicating and transmitting.
Let us take a closer look at the subject of transmission. As we grow
spiritually and continue to learn and to consolidate, we would then be in a
position to transmit postive values and life. The process of transmission may go
on even without words being uttered. The way we live our lives, our values and
our responses may all be caught by
others observing our lives. We would remember how the disciples asked the Lord
Jesus to teach them to pray and in all probability, they must have observed the
prayer life of the Lord which prompted
them to desire to learn to pray. The Lord's prayer life affected them
positively as they lived together with Him
in close quarters. So it is for us too - we can affect others positively,
especially those who are in a position to observe our lives closely. Such
situations may take place in the context of family life, between parents and
children and also in work and school situations, among colleagues and friends.
It is helpful to take note that what we transmit should be an outflow from a
life that is real and not just a front which we conveniently set up to impress.
Putting up a front can cause serious damage in the long run, not just to the
recipient but to the one who seeks to impress.
Ponder over what Paul told Timothy and Titus in 1 Timothy 4:11-12 and
Titus 2:7-8. Basically, we ought to be good examples to those who believe in our
words, our deeds and our actions. If we do that, then positive transmission
would follow. Failure in any major area may result in our transmitting something
which may actually stumble others. Many non-Christians have expressed their
unwillingness to consider the gospel of the Lord Jesus
primarily because of the negative example
of one or more believers. To them, if being a Christian means being like this
particular believer, then they would rather not consider Christianity. The key
phrase in transmission is REALITY AND WHOLESOMENESS OF LIFE. There may be those
who look at our lives and say - a Christian ought to be joyous and be at peace
and yet they see so much anxiety in our lives. Then there are those who
recognise that a Christian should be loving and caring and yet what they see in
us basically is selfishness and self-centredness. It is no wonder that they do
not wish to be like us. What are we indeed transmitting in our lives? Of course,
we are aware that there may be those who are stumbled by us even though our
lives are generally wholesome. Even the Lord Jesus, who was the perfect man on
earth, encountered various ones who claimed to be stumbled by Him. We are not
referring to such categories but to situations where the stumbling is due to the
failure of God's children.
What about the subject of communication? What do we communicate to
others, particularly in these last days? Here of course, communication in
general would mean more than just the words we utter and in some ways,
communication and transmission overlap each other. But in this context, we would
be looking basically at communication with regard to the words that we say. As
the Lord provides opportunity, what do we communicate? Let us be careful that we
do not go around communicating without wisdom and prudence. I remember clearly,
when I was a student, how various ones in the university hostel shared with me
that they were very put off by Christians who went around knocking on their
doors at odd hours and rattling on insistently to them, like a robot, some
standard Christian cliché they called the gospel, even though they were
politely told that there was no interest to hear. To these hostelites, this
so-called communication of the gospel was a nuisance and the Christians who did
it were looked upon as insensitive and overbearing personalities. Some patients
who were rather ill in hospital have also complained how they were very angry
with Christians who kept coming and telling them that they were going to hell.
Here, we need to recognise that to a certain extent, the gospel message
in itself can be offensive because of the truths contained in it; I am not
advocating that we should not share the gospel but I am concerned as to the
approach and manner of sharing and communicating. Certainly, we need much
wisdom, prayerfulness and the Lord's guidance to communicate the gospel with
love and with God's enabling.
Charles Colson, in "The Body - being light in darkness", made
some interesting observations. He had been involved in many crusades for the
past 20 years and he had seen many making decisions to become Christians by
uttering certain correct words. However, many of these so called converts did
not carry on in their faith. Instead, they went back to their old manner of
living. Colson highlighted the difference between a decision and a true
conversion. A true conversion involves the work of the Holy Spirit in
regeneration.
What are we communicating as we share the gospel? What is the wholesome
approach? Are we just collecting statistics or are we prayerfully looking to God
to communicate LIFE? Do we depend on our method or on the Holy Spirit of God?
As God's children, what are we really transmitting and communicating in
our lives? "But we proved to be gentle among you, as a nursing mother tenderly
cares for her own children. Having so fond an affection for you, we were well
pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives,
because you had become very dear to us" (1 Thessalonians 2:7-8). We see
here how Paul and his co-workers communicated the gospel. They imparted and
transmitted not just the gospel but also their own lives. The lives transmitted
were characterised by blamelessness, uprightness, holiness and tenderness,
gentleness and sacrificial love. In contrast, what are we imparting in our words
and in our lives? Are we taking our roles as salt of the earth and light of the
world seriously? Are we indeed worthy ambassadors of the Lord Jesus?