Sharing the Gospel in the Lunar New Year
This is also a busy and festive season for many. This opportunity to gather with family members is also one that we can use to share and live out the gospel. Elder Caleb shares some ways we can hold out the gospel to those we meet in this season.
Dong dong dong dong qiangs are all around us and many of us will have begun the annual preparations for the Lunar New Year. In the heritage of East Asian cultures, the annual harvest festival occupies a central place in the imagination, which has the common effect of bringing families and especially generations together. Houses will be cleaned thoroughly, schedules will be booked for reunion dinners and festive food will be prepared to ensure that the celebratory days of the New Year go off without a hitch.
But these family gatherings can also be a wonderful opportunity to bring true blessing to our loved ones: the good news of Jesus and all the joy, blessing and hope that He brings. Amid our celebrations and festivities, let us not forget the opportunities to bring Jesus with us as the unseen guest to every household and the unseen listener at every conversation.
Loving our families
At the Lunar New Year we give our loved ones some of the best gifts we have to share: our time and presence. But what makes these gifts beautiful is adorning them with necessary virtues: sincerity, humility and gratitude. Why is this necessary? Partly because familiarity can breed contempt. Family relations can also be difficult because of painful expectations, experiences and memories in our lives. But more than our old identities as members of difficult families is our new identity as members of Christ's household. Thus Paul can impress upon young Timothy in 1 Timothy 5:9 that the Christian faith demands that we care for and respect our family members, regardless of the state of our families or what has happened.
Just like new clothes that need to be prepared and chosen, it takes spiritual discipline and effort to prepare ourselves for our family interactions.
Just like new clothes that need to be prepared and chosen, it takes spiritual discipline and effort to prepare ourselves for our family interactions. They need to be infused with deliberate choices and new behaviours. The apostle Peter urged his readers to "make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love" (2 Pet 1:5-6).
How do we speak to our parents and grandparents so we make them feel appreciated and respected? How do we relate to our children with gentleness, care and self-control? What needs to change in our words and actions so that Christian love is on display? What should I say or not say? These are some questions we may need to consider ahead of our gatherings to prepare ourselves to interact with our unbelieving loved ones.
We want to be the aroma of the gospel from life for life to our families. Let us pray that "through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of [Jesus Christ] everywhere" (2 Cor 2:14).
Win a hearing
In the Lunar New Year we could convey true blessing to our family and friends when we gather. Happiness and prosperity are central themes in our traditional greetings, and new year rituals and symbols set the tone for optimism, excitement and hope. Unfortunately much of the culture quantifies this blessing in material terms, so money and wealth occupy a central place. But we also wish our parents and seniors long life and happiness, and we bless the little ones with well-wishes for their health and growth, excellence in school and for their dreams to come true.
Opportunities also abound for us to look our relatives in the eye and wish happiness for them. When we do that, why not be ready also to share about happiness that never fades and joy that can never be lost? We always run a danger of course, of inadvertently offending or insulting others, although we never intend to hurt or demean others. But that could happen if our words carry the subtext of Christian superiority. We would never mean for it, but we could sometimes end up implying that non-Christians are less happy, less moral or or less blessed than we. That said, we should look for gentle tactful ways to wish that they would come to know love that never lets us go, and peace that can never be taken away.
Spiritual conversations of all kinds can open up when we seek to bless our loved ones.
Spiritual conversations of all kinds can open up when we seek to bless our loved ones. "My dear relative, we only get a few minutes together each year when we meet, so share with me: what are you excited about this year? What are you looking forward to?" Or asking, "what is sparking joy in your life?" As our relatives share, why not simply offer to pray a blessing for them this year, and if they are open, let us know if there are ways that we can pray for them throughout the year?
With families and their baggage, it's very possible that past hurts, pains and rifts exist in our relationships. The nearest and dearest wounds are very often the most raw and tender ones. But if you knew that your relational rift or grudge was the core stumbling block for your loved one to hear the gospel and you could do something about it, wouldn't you? If by humbly apologising, seeking forgiveness, working towards reconciliation you could win a hearing for the gospel, wouldn't you?
Open doors to share more
Another way to present Christ to our unbelieving friends and family at the Lunar New Year could be to invite them to visit church. Invite a cousin, a niece or a nephew to visit your church and experience it for themselves. See if visiting church could be an opportunity for them to experience personal peace and spiritual blessing. Offer to set aside a morning to host them so they need not be afraid, and take them for lunch. If we feel shy about presenting Christ directly, why not bring them to an occasion where they will hear about Him for themselves?
The other reality for many unbelieving family members is that they probably have already heard the gospel in some brief format. In Singapore many have heard a gospel presentation in short form, but fewer have had the opportunity to read the Bible for themselves, or to make sense of the Scriptures and encounter the God of the Bible. This is not to say that short presentations like the Bridge to Life ot Two Ways to Live are no longer effective. But we may need to go deeper.
Christian, you could be a channel of blessing to your relative if you made some time for them, to read the Bible together and discover what it has to say about true blessing, prosperity and peace with God. Come to our EQUIP classes on reading the Bible with others in order to learn how best to do this, and to gain more confidence in reading the Scriptures with unbelievers.
What would it look like for you to open the door for the gospel? We need not pack everything into one encounter. Our short visits, or brief time with family can be powerful moments in a series of steps to discover more about Christ.
I have been heartened to hear of church members who invited their nephews to read the gospel of John together, or invited their auntie to visit their Care Group to ask spiritual questions. Lunar New Year engagements could be a wonderful opportunity to offer an invitation to read together and open door for the gospel.
How could God use you to bring the gospel to your families this year?
In conclusion, our gatherings at Lunar New Year could be golden opportunities to love our family and friends, winning a hearing, and opening the door for the gospel. What opportunities do you have? How could God use you to bring the gospel to your families this year?