If The Gospel Was Ebola

Ebola. No one was talking about it before February 2014; everyone been talking about it since. I don't think I could tell you how long its been since I went a whole day without seeing it on the news, reading about it on my social media feed, or hearing it escape the lips of a stranger on the sidewalk. People are either A) panicking B) complaining C) developing conspiracy theories or D) creating memes making fun of options A, B, and C.

This blog is not my two cents on this epidemic, though I would like to ask everyone to take a deep breath, relax, and remember that ebola did not throw Jesus off his throne. I am intrigued, however, by the reaction of so many people and the news being spread about this virus. When you google ebola, you will see the following results (I can't help but read these headlines in the voice of our local newscaster who has a way of making everything seem so much more epic than it really is):

Ebola in America: Has the Fever Broken?

Signs and Symptoms: Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever

What We Are Afraid to Say About Ebola

Ebola Outbreak: What You Need to Know NOW

The bottom line is that people want to know what it is that everyone else is talking about and they want to know if they should concern themselves with it as well. What if the Gospel was ebola? What if I couldn't go a day without seeing its effects on the news? What if I couldn't go a day without seeing it preached on my news feed? What if I heard it pouring out of the mouths of strangers as I passed them on the sidewalk? What if people wanted to know what it is that Christians can't stop talking about and what if they started asking themselves if it should be a part of their lives, too?

Unfortunately, we seem to talk a lot more ebola than Gospel. I've never seen a headline that read "Signs and Symptoms: the Gospel is Taking Over" or "The Gospel: What You Need to Know Now." It saddens my heart that I haven't seen a headline that says "The Gospel in America: The Power of Sin Broken" or "The Gospel in America: Lives are Being Restored."Why aren't these the normal banners on the 5 o'clock news? Somewhere along the way, we have stopped letting our experience with the Gospel be contagious; and so it doesn't spread to our community or across borders, it settles inside of us and sometimes people don't even know we have been infected.

I want the name of Jesus to be as famous in the eyes of the world as the word "ebola." The truth is, it probably isn't these days. People can't keep their opinions about ebola to themselves, but they have no problem keeping quiet about Jesus. That's totally weird to me. There is nothing more powerful, more cataclysmic, more radical, more life-altering than the Gospel. Let's start being a little louder about it until people are seeking Jesus more than they are unreliable facts about ebola.