“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”  Luke 4:18-19 

Imagine you are the CEO of a Fortune 500 company, and you were invited to a world-class financial seminar. As the seminar host introduces the guest speaker, you realize they have the credentials of a small village farmer. You may appreciate what the speaker has accomplished in his village. And the speaker’s message may be valuable—it’s just not valuable to you. Because without identification, there is little value.   Jesus realized the connection between identification and value in his teachings. When Jesus taught, he identified with the needs of the crowd. He captivated the interests of the audience because they could identify with what he taught. His focus was to give real answers that would meet the real needs of people.  

Before Jesus went back to heaven, he put us in charge of his earthly ministry. He challenged us to share his life-changing love with others and the biblical principles that apply to people’s immediate needs. That doesn’t mean we have to bog people down with a bunch of Christian-ese and historical Bible facts. We just have to take our cue from Christ’s example and provide simple answers for the needs of those around us.   

Lord, thank you for the person who clearly communicated your life-changing message with me. It is because of them that I have the opportunity to share my faith with people in my life. Help me to follow Christ’s example and give people real answers that can meet the real needs of their lives. In Jesus’ name, Amen.