Earlier this year, Jan was asked to write an article for a magazine. She wrote on a subject I had not given much thought to before reading her words. Jan wrote about the power of God’s magnetic presence, magnetizing the hearts of people to move toward the love of Jesus Christ. 

I began to think of Jesus, calling the first disciples. They left behind fishing boats, tax collector tables, and known lives to follow the Lord. His magnetizing presence called them. The Samaritan woman who met the Lord at the well, after hearing Jesus speak, went back to her village and shared about her interaction with Him. The people of the village, now magnetized by the testimony of Jesus, went out to hear Him for themselves and begged Him not to leave. When John the Baptist preached about Jesus, the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the entire region came out to hear John’s message. The magnetism of Heaven’s message impacted the whole culture. On the day of Pentecost, people came running to a heavenly sound, magnetized by a message delivered in their native tongue.

We can confuse relevancy with the magnetism of God. Relevancy to culture and other human-based attempts to make the Gospel appealing do not have the same supernatural power as a magnetized message. They don’t have the ability to cause someone to leave behind a life they once knew to follow the Lord at all costs.

Jesus promised to draw all people to Himself if we lift Him up before the world. If we reveal the purest essence of the Lord before a culture, no matter how socially divided or emotionally fractured that culture might be, He will be faithful to magnetize the hearts of the people and draw them to His life and love. Understanding that reality will keep our message pure, simple, and uncluttered.