Spread the news

October 3, 2007

By Greg Ebie

My cell phone is about the size of a roll of quarters. I don’t think twice about carrying it around in my pocket, but a roll of quarters? I had to do that once upon a time; the quarters felt so bulky in my pocket.

Yes, it would have been easier to carry a $10 bill. But the pay phone only accepted quarters. I was about to be a dad for the first time, and I was ready with my roll of quarters to feed the pay phone and tell everyone about the birth of my first child.

How often do you have good news you just can’t keep to yourself? We all want to tell everyone when we have something exciting to share: graduation, a marital engagement, a baby’s first tooth (and later when they lose their first tooth), a new job or a big raise, buying a new car or house, winning the big game.

“We’re not keeping this quiet, not on your life. Just like the psalmist who wrote, ‘I believed it, so I said it,’ we say what we believe. And what we believe is that the One who raised up the Master Jesus will just as certainly raise us up with you, alive” (2 Corinthians 4:13,14, The Message).

As Christians we have something to shout about all the time. We have good news that is not temporary; it is news that has changed our lives forever! Jesus’ death paid the penalty for our sins, and we are forgiven. It doesn’t stop there! Jesus has been raised from the dead and we too will one day be raised up with Him. Death holds no fear for us because God has given us eternal life through Jesus Christ.

I will live forever! Now that’s good news, news to get excited about. Shouldn’t we tell everyone about it? If I carried rolls of quarters in my pocket to let people know about the birth of my kids, shouldn’t I be ready to share the Good News about what God has done for me? I’m going to tell someone the news today. How about you?

D. Greg Ebie is senior pastor of Praise Assembly of God in Garrettsville, Ohio, and an author of Daily Bread devotionals.