In the Beginning was Information

iguously instructed to “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly...”(Colossians 3:16). According to Helmut Matthies, director ofinformation services of the Evangelical Alliance of Germany, theaverage German works 38.5 hours per week and watches televisionfor 17.5 hours per week [M1]. The latter figure is increasing, and thewatchers are exposed to an inconceivable amount of influencing, butthey neglect the one necessary influence. God’s will is that weshould let ourselves be impregnated with his eternal message.2. As sender: In our role as senders we will only pass on informationwhich has impressed us. Jesus expresses this general situation in thewords: “For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks”(Matthew 12:34). The Psalmist always concerned himself with theWord, so that he could and would draw from this supply: “May mytongue sing of your word” (Psalm 119:172). Christians should berecognised from the well they drink. This does not mean that no negativeinformation should proceed from them, but that they should bebearers of good news. God’s evaluation is obvious from Isaiah 52:7:“How beautiful ... are the feet of those who bring good news, whoproclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation.”This good news is the Gospel of Jesus Christ which saves everyonewho believes and accepts it. Jesus often emphasised that we shouldbe senders of this message (Matthew 28:19-20, Mark 16:15, Luke10:3, and Luke 12:8-9). When the Samaritan woman met Jesus atJacob’s well and recognised Him as the Christ, she put her jardown and immediately went back to the town to proclaim the messageof salvation (John 4:25-30). Paul also tried any possible wayof winning over different people of all backgrounds (1 Corinthians9:19-22), and he even tells himself: “Woe to me if I do not preachthe gospel!” (1 Corinthians 9:16). He combines assignment andcontents in the following words: “We implore you on Christ’sbehalf: Be reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians 5:20).This message is not only the most important and the most urgent,it is also the most certain message. The well-known evangelist,C. H. Spurgeon (1834 – 1892) calls out [S9]: “If you don’t have aneternal gospel to proclaim, then your message is only worth20 pennies. You can get uncertainties elsewhere and everywhere,but matters of eternal life are only found in the Bible.”140