by Mick Schatz
ROSCOMMON, MI – Now, I realize “CONTAGIOUS” is a dreaded word right now however, for the Christian it should be a way of life.
Have you ever met someone for the first time and you just knew they were a Christian, and their witness made you want to be a better Christian? Maybe you know someone who, no matter how many rotten tomatoes this life throws at them, they just make more ketchup. It’s contagious! Hang around them long enough and you learn how to make ketchup too. It’s contagious!
There have been several prominent friends in my past who have infected my life with theirs. To me they seemed so tuned in to God there seemed to be a telephone line connecting them directly to heaven - as if they were constantly talking and listening to God.
Sometimes I feel like I’m trying to talk with God via Zoom with two hundred other people on the chat, and everyone is talking at once. I digress, but my point is they have impacted, inspired, and infected my life with their relationship with God.
In Scripture, in the book of John we see an amazing encounter between Jesus and a Samaritan woman. Jesus was sitting by a well when she came to draw water from it. After much questioning and conversation, Jesus reveals to her who He is, who she is, and what she believes. What happens next is amazing…
"So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, 'Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?' They went out of the town and were coming to him… Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony…" (John 4:28-30,39).
She was infected, and she was contagious. Who Jesus is and what He did for her was just too great to keep to herself - she had to tell everyone. Contagious!
As Christians, as the church, we should feel the same compulsion. Who Jesus is and what He did for us is just too great for us to keep to ourselves. Our contagious infection gives Life. Our infection does not make people sick or put them in the hospital, it brings Hope, Love, Joy, abundant Grace and Mercy. Our contagious faith - Jesus - is the cure for sin and all of its diseases.
In a world suffering from a pandemic of pride, selfishness and greed, Jesus is the 100% effective vaccination. As Believers this is our call, this is our mission: infect our neighbors with the love of Christ, the only cure for this world - be contagious!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mick Schatz serves on the staff of the Baptist State Convention of Michigan. He is the State Director of Spiritual Enrichment and Retreats and lives at Bambi Lake.