Ticking

God has a plan, and He is using His people to express His love and truth to the earth.  Ephesians 1
gives us some insight into what He desires to do:
7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace
8 which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence,
9 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself,
10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth--in Him.

It's certainly a glorious plan, and while none of us deserve to have a relationship with the Almighty God, nevertheless He has called and chosen us to be His representatives, to show the world what He has done and what He can do.  Because of our life change, we have a testimony that He will use to touch the hearts and lives of others - we have to be willing to allow Him to speak and live through us so that we can be influential for the sake of the gospel.

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In Colossians 4, we can find a set of instructions that can direct us in living a fruitful Christian life.
We can read:
2 Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving;
3 meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains,
4 that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.
5 Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time.

As I have pointed out, there are all sorts of tools through which we can communicate God's truth.  And, there is a platform of social media has been identified as becoming increasingly popular among religious people, especially younger ones.  That includes Christians.

The website, Insider, had a summary of a lengthier article from The Daily Beast, about Christian involvement in the website, TikTok. It's being characterized as popular among the Gen Z crowd. The article states:

While TikTok is mostly known for short-form video clips featuring influencers engaged in viral dances, comedy skits, or offering beauty advice, a new report from the Daily Beast found that religious influencers have also turned the platform as a way to spread the gospel or talk about Jesus.

For instance, 17-year-old Nick Touma is quoted in the article; he has over 28,000 TikTok followers and told the Beast: "I think God gave me this audience because he's giving me a message to share...I'm not going to force it to people. When I make videos of Christianity, I integrate it into what's trending. I feel that's a better opportunity to make the message relevant, versus saying it outright."

There are also mini-profiles of other teens who see TikTok as a witnessing tool.  The Insider article says:

Eighteen-year-old Nakelle Garrett, who posted a TikTok involving a diss at Satan and a shot of Christ rising, told the Daily Beast "I realized that this could be a light for the kingdom, so I started uploading a bunch of Christian content." She describes herself in her TikTok profile as "just[t] a gal who loves Jesus."

And Chani Davis, who is 30, lives in Utah, and has more than 280,000 followers, said "I would like others to feel loved, or if they're being bullied for their religion, they can remember 'Oh, Chani's a Christian too.'"

Touma and Garrett also receive mention in a Washington Examiner piece on how religious people, even those who are Amish and Mennonite, are using TikTok. The article relates:

More Americans today identify as spiritual but not religious. This is due to a decline in religiosity, not because of a rise in spirituality. In particular, young people are drifting away from attending worship services and identifying with organized religion. Children and young adults worldwide are more likely to be religiously unaffiliated, especially in North America. In the United States, fully 35% of Millennials (born between 1981 to 1996) are religious “nones.”

TikTok’s biggest user group is young people under 16, making it an optimal platform for reaching out to those “nones” who may be religiously unaffiliated.

The article notes that TikTok has some 1 billion people who have the app on their smartphones.  The Examiner piece says: "...while it’s doubtful an app can reverse declining religious belief among young adults, it is certainly the case that today’s lingua franca is parlayed via social media, memes, and viral videos." Google "lingua franca," and you see that it is defined as "a language that is adopted as a common language between speakers whose native languages are different."  The article says, "One may chuckle or scoff at religious individuals descending into silliness on teen-focused apps to generate interest, but there’s a certain logic to it, buoyed by an undeniable sincerity."

And, Faithwire has reported some new TikTok news - it relates:

"Nurse Holly” has amassed quite the following on TikTok. She uses her incredibly popular account to talk — and joke — about her career in the medical field. But now she’s facing scorn because she encouraged her 1.7 million followers to wait until they’re married to have sex.

In the video, which has since been deleted, Holly promoted the message, “The best way to prevent STDs is waiting for sex until marriage. Just the truth.”

The article says that Holly "told BuzzFeed News she chose to delete the video because of the intense backlash she faced. She also apologized 'for any offense that was taken' as she 'only wish[es] to promote positivity and healthy lifestyles.'"

So, TikTok, like other social media, can be a cruel place sometimes.

But, people of faith are seeing that this can be a great way to share a message, sometimes in an "out-of-the-box" way.  You may not be a social media participant, especially to a large degree, but we all can be challenged to find a way to share gospel truth.  We consider this question, "Where is your position of influence?"

And, judging from the nature of some of these short videos (it appears that 15 seconds is the limit), people don't necessarily take themselves too seriously.  Sometimes we can become overwhelmed by seriousness, and need to lighten the tone a bit - maybe smile, or laugh, or see the humor in life.

Finally, the name of the platform is TikTok - and that caused me to think about having a sense of urgency in our lives.  We are not promised tomorrow, and time is ticking; our time on earth is coming to a close, and we have to make sure that we are using the finite time God has given us here for His glory.  And, Jesus is coming for His Church, and we can communicate that message of being ready.