Preaching the Gospel does not mean merely telling people what it means or what it says. It does not mean simply reciting the teachings of Christ, and then failing to live them out. St. Francis of Assisi expressed this thought when he said, "Preach the Gospel at all time, if necessary use words."
In a similar vein, St. Paul talks about this in his first letter to the Thessalonians. He writes:
"With such affection for you, we were determined to share with you not only the gospel of God, but our very selves as well, so dearly beloved had you become to us." (1 Thessalonians 2:8)
The Bible calls us to love others as we love ourselves, and we cannot do this if we do not share ourselves with them and invest in them. This means spending time with others, making them a priority in life, and giving them the very best of ourselves.
Notice that St. Paul still talks about still sharing the gospel of God with others. If we want a relationship to be as fruitful as possible, Christ still has to be at the center of it. It is easy to think that just by spending time with some person we are sharing ourselves with them and having a great friendship, but that is only part of the equation. We need to share Christ with them.
In your friendships and relationships today, I would challenge you to think if you are living this out. I know I could be better in many ways when it comes to this. If we love another person (as we are called to do with everyone), then we need to share with them our lives, and our faith. This will show them how beloved they are to us.
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