Many people when asked what book of the bible should be read first are pointed to the Gospel of John. That is a good choice -- John presents the gospel in a straight forward manner and leads an unbeliever into the understanding of salvation. John tells us this himself. In John 20:31 we read, "...but these have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name."
However, there is another gospel that our friends have been reading that is the most powerful of all. As Irish evangelist Gypsy Smith once said, “There are five Gospels. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and the Christian, and some people will never read the first four.” Our friends see our lives and we have to wonder if what they see makes them hungry for what we proclaim.
During the intro to DC Talk's, "What if I Stumble" there is a voice over track. The words said are, "The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians, who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, then walk out the door and deny him with their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world finds simply unbelievable."
So, that leaves me to wonder -- am I living the gospel I proclaim? When my friends see me, do they get my point without me saying it? When I watch a child eat an ice cream cone, I have little doubt that they are consuming something they love! Do my friends see me consumed by the one I proclaim to love?
So, rest assured that people will not bother to read the four gospels if they do not believe the testimony of the fifth -- which is us.
