4 Reasons Why I Post Scriptures Anyway (pt. 2)

The first part of this article was “4 Reasons why I struggle with posting scripture” and this article will be why I post scriptures anyway.

In the previous article, I discussed some downfalls with posting scripture and the downfall of having lack of context, not wanting to support a wrong biblical conclusion, one verse does not teach the totality of a subject, and finally the downfall of not knowing my audience. You can read that article here.

Well if you ever visit my Facebook page, you will see that even though I struggle with when and how to post scripture, I post scripture anyway. Here are 4 reasons why:

1. The Word still has the power to convict

In Romans 1:16, we see that the gospel has the power to save souls, I do not. Later in the book of Romans, Paul writes:

“So faith comes from hearing and hearing the word of Christ.”- Romans 10:17

Sometimes we forget that our job is to scatter  and water that seed and God will give the increase (c.f. 1 Cor. 3:6-9). We may think that our random posting (hopefully it’s not so random) of scripture or a scriptural thought falls on deaf ears but only God knows the fruit that may come from our labor. I post scripture because I believe in the power of the word and it’s ability to transform lives.

2. I want to be shrewd

In a parable that Jesus tells in Luke 16 of the “Shrewd Manager,” it seems as if Jesus is very disappointed with those who claim to be children of light. You see Jesus sees how far people of the world will go for the things they want, even this manager about to lose his job becomes very innovative to make sure that his future is secure. We see that in the world around us today, people who want to get rich so they find new ways and tactics to get rich. Others who want to change the world in technology come up with very shrewd and pretty inventive ways to get the task done. The point of this is that Jesus sees this and is somewhat impressed, even if it was an unrighteous goal. The reason he is impressed is because he knows that when a person truly wants something, they will come up with ways to get the job done.

So what about children of light? Jesus says that the world is more shrewd than we are and it ought not to be so. We have the greatest plan, message, and work that has ever been put into place and yet we fail at using the things God has given us to spread that word. I know that “one-on-one” evangelism was the key to Jesus’ ministry and ought to be the majority of ours but social media sites gives me access to people I would never meet face-to-face. Even my last article was seen by over 200 people and had 35+ shares. There were people who I communicated to, that I have never met and would never meet but had an opportunity to teach. I post scripture because I believe it is one of the many “shrewd” things God would expect from his children who are trying to reach the lost and dying world.

3. I want to encourage my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ

Personally there are days where I am feeling greatly discouraged and down and getting on Facebook or twitter can make it worse but of course, I continue to scroll. While scrolling, because I have many brothers and sisters in Christ as friends, I can become greatly encouraged and uplifted by their posting of scripture and so I hope to be able to do the same. Paul talking in the context of the return of Christ, he said this:

“Therefore comfort one another with these words”- 1 Thess. 4:18

I also have an opportunity to encourage brothers and sisters in Christ all around the world who, without Facebook, I would never get a chance to. I see that as a great blessing within itself. Paul wrote many letters of comfort to his fellow brethren and I guarantee if he had email or Facebook, he would have used it for that very purpose as well. Paul would stop at nothing to make sure he uplifted and spoke words of edification to the Christians who were living in a home that was not their own (their citizenship being in heaven and all). I post scripture because I want to be a source of encouragement to a brother or sister in Christ who may be struggling that day.

4. In the midst of darkness, the light shines brightest

Last but not least, I post scripture because I am tired of just about every other post. Social media sites are full of hate, negativity, politics, etc. I want to be a source of fresh air and light in the midst of all that darkness. “The light shines brightest in the darkness” is a quote I have seen before and do not know who originally said it. I know one thing, they stole it from the bible ;-). The word of Christ speaks vastly and richly about the light shining in darkness and that darkness cannot consume the light. In Ephesians 5, one of the greatest chapters that talk about what “light walking” looks like, speaks about this very idea. Christians are children of light and everything we think, say, and do should reflect that. I post scripture because I want to be a light in the midst of darkness and the only way I know how to do that via Facebook, is to be a child of the kingdom and a child of the kingdom talks about kingdom things, which just so happen to be scripture related.

I hope that the two articles combined can help us to be wise in the words we choose to speak or post. I hope for the day that Christians will talk more about the kingdom than the land that we sojourn. We are the light of the world and the salt of the earth, even when it comes to social media sites.

*Link to Part 1

In Love,

Jesse Nelsen