Hey there! Many of y’all don’t know me personally, only from what my mother writes about me on her blogs. (Hope it’s all good things, right? ;). Anyways, I have felt called to share a little something I’ve been thinking about for a while, and I hope that I’ll get the opportunity to share it with you. It won’t be as eloquent as my mother’s writing, as I can only pray to have her skill with words, but it’s something that I hope you will remember.

My Papoo had his stroke back in 2000. So, when I came along in 2004, the damage had already been done, and Papoo was limited to a few short words in his vocabulary. While this was not the typical grandparent/granddaughter dynamic, we made it work. My cousin Logan gave the most beautiful speech at his funeral and spoke on how love does not always need words. And truth be told, my Papoo was the embodiment of this. I’d venture that he always understood more than he let on, and he always knew what to do in any situation, even without words. My thing with Papoo was winking. When I would greet him…a shared wink. When we would make eye contact across the room…a wink. When I said bye to him with a hug and an “I love you”, you guessed it…a wink. These shared little moments made me know that Papoo truly did love me, even if he couldn’t directly express it with words.

At his funeral, I heard so so many good stories and memories of my grandfather. It was truly heartwarming to know just how many people my grandfather touched, and brought to know Christ throughout his short time on this earth. It moved me in the fact that Papoo’s stroke did not stop him from sharing Jesus, both through his action and stories. (If you want more context, you should check out my mom’s post on Papoo and his Jesus superhero shirt). And that, got me thinking.

The tongue is quite possibly the most useful and dangerous tool one can have. It can build someone up just as quickly as it can tear someone down. Not only that, but the tongue is the best way to share the Gospel. And my grandfather’s tongue was very sharp when it came to the Gospel. From what I’ve been told, no grocer, customer, or stranger was safe from him sharing what he loved, which warms my heart immensely.

But what my grandfather taught me most of all was that while you don’t need words to show love, you also don’t need words to “tell” others about Jesus.

What I mean here is that sharing the Gospel does not necessarily have to be through words. It can also be through your actions. I hear a lot in church that we need to work towards being the embodiment of Christ. But what does that actually mean? It means living a life that models the character, love, and actions of Christ. And when you work towards living a life that embodies Christ, people notice. They wonder what is different about this person, that they are living and acting in this way. Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:16 “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven”. Maybe this is part of what it means to embody Christ. We aren’t simply doing good things so that people will notice us; we are living in such a way that, when people notice, their eyes are ultimately directed towards Him.

And perhaps that is where the Gospel begins—not always with words and sermons, but with a life that makes people curious about the One you follow. Your kindness may prompt a question. Your patience will stand out in a fallen world full of anger. Your grace and willingness to forgive may prompt someone to wonder why. Your joy and hope in difficult circumstances may cause someone to ask where this joy stems from. And when these doors caused by our actions open, we have the opportunity to then use our words to tell them about Jesus.

In a way, I think this is what Papoo taught me. He shared Jesus boldly with his words when he could, but even when those words became limited, his life continued to speak. His love and his unwavering faith during the last 26 difficult years of his life still told his story. While the tongue may be the greatest tool for sharing the Gospel, it is not the only one.

To Papoo, thank you for teaching me so much throughout my life, even if it did not come directly from your own mouth. Thank you for teaching me the importance of listening, and of showing the love of Christ not only with my words, but with my actions. While I never got to listen to your sermons, or have a deep spiritual talk with you, just know that you have still made a profound impact on my life, and I hope to carry your story with me for the rest of my life. I pray that I will be able to touch half the amount of people in my lifetime that you did.

To the person reading this, may you be encouraged to live out your everyday for Christ. People notice things. They notice how you carry yourself, how you treat others, and how you respond when life does not go the way you think. You may never know whose life you are impacting simply by choosing grace and love over anger, and Christ over yourself. So, live in such a way that people see something different in you. And when they ask what it is, be ready to tell them about Jesus.

Because sometimes, the most powerful Gospel message is the life we live before we ever speak a word.

By: Avery Van Laar, Papoo’s oldest granddaughter