Sunday, May 2

As for you, always be sober, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, carry out your ministry fully.
—2 Timothy 4:5

We do not necessarily think of ourselves, nor do we even want to be, evangelists. Yet, what really counts in all the work we do in this life is doing the ministry of an evangelist.

An evangelist is one who speaks and bears good news. One who is able to stare at the thick tar of ugliness in life and cut through it with goodness. One who can gaze at the painful emptiness hollowing out the eyes of those bent in sorrow and speak a word that shines the light of goodness in that great darkness. One who bears good news even in the midst of conflict that can rip and rend relationships into shreds.

Being an evangelist is not merely trying to convince others to accept some religious truth. Rather, it is about "being" religious truth in the midst of an often troubled world.

It does not take much to be an evangelist. We do not need to add extra burdens to our already over-filled work and family life. We have only to keep our eyes open for goodness around us—even when it seems woefully hidden—and share that goodness without reserve.

O God, keep the very cells of my being open so that I never miss your goodness; which is present at all times and creeps out in the most unexpected places.

These Signposts originally appeared on explorefaith in 2004.