Too Good Not To Share

Grace is often contagious; it is more caught than taught.

Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said
and who had followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and
tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus…

JOHN 1:40-42

On the day I proposed to Laurie (I’m so blessed that she said yes), we were ecstatic. We wanted to celebrate so we drove to a romantic restaurant on the waterfront. In the parking lot before we got out of the car, we began to call people, and call, and call! After many giddy announcements of our engagement, we finally walked over to the restaurant. Much to our surprise, because we spent so long in the car talking with people, it was now closed.

Without realizing it, sharing with the people we loved was far more important than the appetizing food. The locked front door just gave me another opportunity to tell someone else our story. The same waitress who told us the restaurant was closed, after hearing about our engagement, now let us in for a special exception: two desserts. Doors that were closed began to open as she wanted to give us something for our engagement. Grace is often contagious; it is more caught than taught!

When was the last time you were so excited about something that you had to tell people about it? Andrew urgently found his brother Simon because he wanted to tell him about Jesus. Underneath it all was simply a deep love for Simon and an awareness of the greatness of Jesus. Andrew had a sense that their future was about to change in a remarkable way.

When you experience Jesus, His grace ignites your passion. You become connected to a purpose that spans all generations, and He invites you into a new future. As you share your journey and the pure joy of discovering who Jesus is, God will open up incredible opportunities for you. Remember that it was Andrew who told his brother Simon about Jesus. This is the same Simon who Jesus would later rename Peter, calling him a rock and a pillar in the early church. Andrew cared too much about his brother to not tell him about the Messiah! The direction of their lives was about to be transformed by the grace of Jesus.

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Excerpt republished with permission from Rooted in Grace by Jesse Bradley c. 2012