Have you ever known someone with a proverbial one-track mind? That person who is always quick to make a sexual quip? Almost any comment made in a conversation can serve as an opening for them to drop an innuendo. They are so adept at this because they have consistently set their minds on that one thing. So everything they hear or see reminds them of sex.
Every believer should have a gospel-track mind—a mind so steeped in the good news that everything he or she hears is a reminder of some aspect of the gospel. Any remark about an injustice, an emotional trauma, a physical injury, or even good or bad weather causes that mind to race to Jesus and His redemption of sinners.
Additionally, every believer should constantly seek to grow in a Christ-like love for the lost, so that when their mind runs to the gospel, their mouth follows right behind, dropping well-placed gospel truths.
Some of us can probably think of brothers and sisters who already have this kind of gospel-track mind. I know two people who are absolute ninjas at this—Pastor John and my wife Shelby. They naturally and regularly drop well-placed gospel truths into conversations.
How might we train our minds and mouths to do the same? A few suggestions. First, daily rehearse the good news of Jesus Christ in full. You can do this in your own words or string together direct quotations from the Word. (Here is a post with some suggestions.) However you do it, having a broad “gospel vocabulary”—that is, having a wide variety of Scripture references and/or phrases to use—will keep this daily habit from becoming rote and mechanical. This daily rehearsal of the gospel can be reinforced through our regular Bible reading, if we intentionally look for gospel themes in the particular text we are reading each day.
Second, think through the day ahead (or the day behind) about how the gospel impacts what is going on in your life. “I have a meeting at work—the gospel reminds me that the room will be full of souls, either reconciled to God or estranged from God.” “The car is making horrible noises and it just sounds expensive—the gospel reminds me that God didn’t spare His own Son…how will He not provide in lesser things?” “My grown child is not walking with the Lord—the gospel reminds me that the Lord knows those who are His and will not let them stray indefinitely.” “I get to spend time with some of my favorite people tonight—the gospel reminds me that all good gifts are from the Lord and my eternity will entail my closest friends worshiping Jesus with me forever.” The idea is to learn to see every aspect of your own life in terms of gospel truth. This will help you to see everyone else’s life and circumstances the same way.
Third, train your mind to run to the gospel by intentionally walking through the day trying to relate anything and everything you see and hear to the gospel. There is a long line to get into the theatre…you might think, “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”
You see a crew of men working on a new roundabout…you could think, “…we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
You overhear a comment at Chic-fil-a (“College has gotten almost prohibitively expensive”)…you may be reminded, “…let the one who desires take the water of life without price.”
A gospel-track mind deftly finds the quickest route from point A to point G(ospel). It takes intentionality, but that is what training is. We are training ourselves to have a gospel-track mind.
Now, this alone will not lead to our dropping gospel truth into conversations. It may lead us to think gospel truths, but not necessarily to speak them. We need something else to help us…
Fourth, meditate on Christ’s loving compassion for the lost, praying that His heart would become yours. Regular time spent in the Gospels and epistles, looking intentionally for Christ’s heart for sinners is a great fuel for our own love for the lost. Additionally, regularly reminding ourselves that were it not for someone loving us enough to tell us the truth, we would still be dead in our sins.
The other day, my wife was talking to a client who had recently lost a loved one. Shelby could tell by her words that she likely was not a believer. It turns out she was right. This woman said of her deceased family member, “At least I know we’ll be together again someday.”
Now, many of us would recognize that comment as an opening. As Christians, we know that only believers will enjoy eternity together. However, we might walk right past the opportunity, not saying anything, but only thinking what is true. Love should move us to verbalize something, to walk through that door and move the conversation toward the good news.
Shelby replied, “So what are your beliefs about the afterlife, if you don’t mind my asking?” This led to a long conversation about eternal things, including a full presentation of the gospel. Pastor John has a laundry list of such stories. Both would tell you, the more you do it, the more natural it becomes.
May the Lord grant us all the desire to develop gospel-track minds which open gospel-speaking mouths!
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