I am on a mission. I have been sent by the Highest Authority, and I am charged with delivering the most important message you will ever hear. I have been empowered, equipped and endorsed to successfully complete my mission. I have everything I need to be successful. And yet I hesitate to tell you what you need to hear. Instead of trusting the One who sent me, instead of focusing on your need, I writhe and wallow in a pool of doubt, fear and self-preservation.
As I walk alongside you, or when I bump into you unexpectedly, or when I meet you for the first (perhaps only) time, I ask myself:
- At what cost will I stay in my comfort zone?
- At what cost will I blend in with the crowd?
- At what cost will I avoid offending you?
- At what cost will I evade persecution?
- At what cost will I refuse to love you?
And no matter how many times or how many ways I ask these questions, I always come up with the same answer – the cost is your soul! Because the real question is:
- At what cost will I will I not share with you what the Bible teaches about Jesus?
The truth of the matter is, if you come to my church (my safe zone), I will tell you about Jesus all day long. Or even better, if you just straight up ask me about Jesus, I will be happy to share anything and everything I know about Him. Outside of that, your odds of hearing the truth from me aren’t always that great. But no matter how many times I fail to complete my mission, I am never stripped of my commission. My Lord and Savior wipes away the tears, brushes me off, reminds me of His undying love for me and sends me right back to the frontline.
Why? Because He loves me, and because He loves you! And in His perfect wisdom, He has chosen to use His people to share His truth. He doesn’t need me to tell you about His love for you, but He trusts and expects me to do it. He has also given me His Spirit and His Word to ensure the message you hear about Him is just what you need to hear.
Open your heart to the absolute truth and eternal power of His Word.
- Mark 8:34-37 When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 35 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. 36 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? 37 Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
- Luke 12:16-21 Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. 17 And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ 18 So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.”’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ 21 “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
- Romans 6:20-23 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 22 But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
- John 3:16-17 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
Even though you may not always be able to count on me to hear the truth about salvation in Jesus Christ, you can always count on the Word of God.
- Isaiah 55:11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
- Romans 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
- Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.
My heart breaks for the souls of the lost.
Still sometimes I retreat when duty calls.
Don’t judge God based on my disobedience!
Now you have heard the truth about Jesus.
Will you respond to His message of love?
Don’t reject God based on your presumptions!
Prayer
Father, You know every one of my failures and shortcomings – yet You love me perfectly and permanently. Thank You for this method and opportunity to share and/or remind others of Your truth – the good news about salvation in and through Jesus Christ. Please soften the hardened hearts, mend the broken hearts and open every heart to what Your Word has to say. I love You. Thanks for all You are and all You do. I praise You and pray to You in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
