What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice. – Philippians 1:18, KJV

We had the pleasure of hearing Dr. Bob Jones, III, Chancellor of Bob Jones University in Greenville, SC, speak at our church recently. He preached on Philippians chapter 1, and from this passage he extracted this lesson: no matter what your circumstances, life is good if you are fulfilling your purpose to share the Gospel.

To illustrate his point, Dr. Jones relayed his encounter with a boy named Andrew. Andrew, the son of a pastor in the mid-West, died at the ripe young age of ten from terminal brain cancer.  During the last weeks of his life, Andrew was burdened for the soul of the unsaved nurse whose job it was to care for him at night. Not knowing exactly how to witness to her himself, he simply asked her to play the movie Sheffey – a movie with a clear Gospel message – every night before he went to sleep.

Not long before he passed, Andrew was visited by a pastor who, at one point, asked the nurse whether or not she believed in Christ.

“Oh, no,” she replied, “I believe in science. I only believe in what I can observe.”

The pastor replied, “Let me ask you this, then.  Have you observed a difference between how Andrew has handled his imminent death and how other terminal children you’ve served have handled their imminent deaths?”

“Most definitely,” said the nurse, to which the pastor replied, “The difference you have been observing is Jesus Christ.”

The nurse trusted Christ that evening.

Andrew’s life, though short, had tremendous impact in the midst of tragedy because he fulfilled his Christian purpose to share the Gospel of Christ. He shared it through Sheffey, he shared it through how he faced his last days, and he shared it in the joy of his Lord.

Whether your circumstances are well or whether they are ill, you can find joy in those circumstances by sharing the Gospel. Why? Because God did not create the eternal emotion of joy to rest on a foundation of temporary circumstances. He created it to be founded on obedience to Him. We can choose to obey no matter what is going on around us, and when we do, we will have joy.

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