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2 Corinthians 4:5
We
live in an age of self-promotion: every major accomplishment is announced on
Facebook, every photo catalogued on Instagram, every quip transmitted via
Twitter. Between selfies, status updates, blog posts, and more, social media offers
a host of ways to shout to the world, “Look at me!” Everyone wants to be
noticed, and it has never been quite so easy to put yourself in the spotlight.
For
the follower of Jesus, the age of self-promotion is troubling because of its potential
effect on how the gospel is perceived and delivered. For every believer, the good
news of Jesus Christ is a personal story, a testimony of how you have been
saved and redeemed. One of the most beautiful things about the gospel is that
it is not just a dusty old tale stuck in the first century; it is alive and
relevant for every believer, who can proudly claim, “This is my story.”
But
while part of the gospel’s power is demonstrated in its effect on individual lives,
we should never lose sight of who the main character is: not the recipient of
salvation, but the Savior himself; not you, but him. It is Jesus who accomplished
the work of salvation, who died on the cross and then rose in glory. It is
Jesus who sanctifies the believer, who calls every Christian to abide with him.
The follower of Jesus is not center stage, but is by definition at the back of
the line, with the Lord leading the way.
The
beautiful reality of the gospel, sometimes hard to swallow in an age of
self-promotion, is that it is much less about you than about Jesus; it is not a
story about how far you’ve come so much as how far he has brought you. The
cross is not a tool for building yourself up in the eyes of others, but a
reminder that the exalted will be humbled and the humble will be exalted, that
Christ’s power is perfected in weakness. So may your pursuit not be self-promotion,
but self-sacrifice, giving of yourself not so that you will be noticed, but so
that Jesus will be.
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