“For if I [merely] preach the Gospel, that gives me no reason to boast, for I feel compelled of necessity to do it. Woe is me if I do not preach the glad tidings (the Gospel)!” 1 Cor 9:16 (Amplified)
Have you ever interacted with an obsessive compulsive? This is a psychological disorder and involves someone who feels that they must do something and keep doing it irrespective of how many times they might have previously done it. It often has a negative connotation since it usually involves doing something beyond the remit of normal behaviour. For example, it is normal to have an aversion for dirt, but someone with an obsessive compulsive urge to clean will give an over the top response to a tiny speck of dust and would even clean places that are already sparkling clean. Such a person cannot abide even a single speck of dust that other normally adjusted people would be indifferent to. Such people give in to their compulsion irrespective of the location or company.
However, while this condition is not flattering, it comes close to what Paul was trying to describe about his own compulsion to preach the Gospel. He just couldn’t help himself but to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The implication is that Paul preached the Gospel at every given opportunity irrespective of the location or type of company he was keeping. In other words, he had no sense of inhibition, prohibition or shame about communicating the Gospel. He just had to do it irrespective of the consequence. So what was the result of this spiritual obsessive compulsive? He preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ without fear or favour and as expected of those who know their God, he did great exploits for Christ and the kingdom of God. Paul had something in common with Jeremiah – God’s fire burned in their bones. They just could not resist the urge to tell someone about the God they served and God used their witnesses to expand His kingdom.
The problem with the Church especially in the West is that we have lost our passion for God and worse we are ashamed of our God. We have lost the sense of excitement and wonder about the good that our God can accomplish through our witness in our world or what else could account for our reticence to share the Gospel. My definition of a spiritual obsessive compulsive like Paul is someone with a focused passion and desire to intelligently and compassionately share God with others and we certainly need more of this to inject God’s love in our love-starved world. In places where God is moving mightily, this is the order of the day. We need to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ unashamedly, unapologetically and with fervour and uncommon boldness, for this is our raison d’être – our reason for being. To do this we need to develop a deep compassion for lost souls, for it is that and only that that can motivate and maintain our enthusiasm for sharing the good news of God’s love. We need to ask God to give us a burden that would drive us to our knees as we intercede for lost souls and go after them with the message of the Gospel.
Prayer:
Lord, just like Paul, make me a spiritual obsessive compulsive for you. Empower me to boldly share your word with signs and wonders following so that the world will truly know that you are God. Let passion for seeing your kingdom come consume me so that I can play my part in bringing the lost to you. Remove from me the spirit of indifference and replace it with your agape love for humanity in Jesus name. Amen.