Tell The World

By Roger D. Campbell
     In June 1989, a remarkable, unforgettable series of events took place in Beijing, China. In a special place known as Tiananmen Square, thousands of college-aged Chinese people and others had come together in protest of some of the policies of Mainland China. Their gathering and apparent unwillingness to back down caught the attention of the world. News agencies from around the world came to cover this major news event. In the end, what at one time appeared to some outsiders to have the potential to lead to something good, concluded with heart-wrenching tragedy. Government officials sent in military units that gunned down large numbers of protesters. Early reports estimated the number of civilians killed to be in the thousands. Later the number was reduced to several hundred. More than likely, no one will ever know the exact figure.
     Many of us who closely watched the unfolding of events in Tiananmen Square will never be able to forget those images that we saw via television. Those protesters that survived the slaughter do not want the world to forget what took place there, either. Some time after those happenings, a Chinese man by the name of Liu Bin Yan wrote a book entitled “Tell the World.” He wanted the message to get out about what so many saw and experienced in the weeks, days, and hours that led up to the horrible tragedy of Tiananmen Square in June 1989. He wanted the whole world to hear their side of the story. As one student in Tiananmen Square put it on June 4, 1989, “You must tell the world what is happening. Otherwise, all this counts for nothing.”
     “Tell the World” – Is that not what Jesus, in a nutshell, told His apostles to do, when He told them to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every person? (Mark 16:15). Brethren, we must arise and “Tell the World,” not only of the tragedy of the slaying of an innocent man on a cross outside of old Jerusalem, but also that the One Who was crucified there is the sinless Son of the living God, and through Him redemption is available to every sinner of every nation! Yes, we must be about our Father’s business and “Tell the World.” If we don’t, who will? If we don't, how can we stand before our Lord, knowing that we have failed to carry out our number one mission?
     According to Jesus’ “Great Commission,” He wants His people to preach. Yet, preaching is not enough. We must not only preach, but also see to it that we preach in many places. But, preaching in many places is still not sufficient. Preaching on every one of the seven continents is needed, but that does not suffice. Preaching in every country on every continent is a great start, yet that still is not what the Lord told us to do. No, He told us to preach to every person of every place in the whole world. Now that is one big job to undertake! If the Lord instructed us to do it, then we know that with His help we can get the job done. Let us arise and go forth to “Tell the World.”

- Roger D. Campbell, Cleveland, TN; via the Belvedere Beacon, the weekly bulletin of the Belvedere church of Christ, Belvedere, SC.  Ken Chumbley preaches for this congregation, and he may be contacted at their website: http://www.belvederechurchofchrist.org