In our daily meditations over the last few days, we have been talking about Jesus commissioning His disciples to share the good news of the Gospel with the whole world. The Lord relies on us to share the message of salvation and make disciples of all nations. There must be a heart of compassion and love for the one to whom we share the message of life in our reaching out. Don't have a pushy attitude but be gentle and kind to each person with whom you share the good news about Jesus. An old Christian song says, "You're the only Jesus some will ever see," so be good representatives of the Lord. The Body of Christ is like a many-faceted diamond. The thing that makes the diamond shine and makes it beautiful is the light. We are like diamonds through which God wants to shine His light. We trust in the power of His truth, His light, and His love.
Even if you feel that your words are faltering and you feel inadequate, people will sense the love of God in you and respond to God's word one way or another. If someone does not respond positively, you don't know what God is doing on the inside with that person. Many people experience a battle within before they finally decide to turn from serving themselves and come to Christ. It is good to wear down a person's self-protective defenses with the love of God. Some people find it hard to accept that God loves them because they feel guilt and unworthiness. The enemy, Satan, sows the thought in their minds that if there is a God, how could He ever love them? We must help others as if they are our own children. There is the story of an American family’s son returning home from the Vietnam War:
The phone rang in a high society Boston home. On the line was a son who had just returned from the Vietnam war and was calling from California. His parents were the cocktail circuit, party kind—drinking, wife swapping, gambling, and all the other things that go with it. The boy said to his mother, "I just called to tell you I wanted to bring a buddy home with me." His mother said, "Bring him home for a few days." But, mother, you need to know something about this boy. One leg is gone, one arm’s gone, one eye is gone, and his face is quite disfigured. Is it all right if I bring him home?" His mother said, "Bring him home for a few days." The son said, "You didn't understand me, mother. I want to bring him home to live with us." The mother began making excuses about the embarrassment and what people would think, and the phone clicked. A few hours later, the police called from California to Boston. The mother picked up the phone again. The police sergeant at the other end said, "We just found a boy with one arm, one leg, one eye, and a mangled face, who has just killed himself with a shot in the head. The identification papers on the body say he is your son.[1]
Treat everyone you get to talk to as if he or she is your son or daughter. If the person is a stranger to you, they are someone's loved one that is more than likely being prayed for by someone in their family. Cast your bread upon the waters, and after many days it will return to you (Ecclesiastes 11:1 KJV). What does that verse seem to be saying? When we give out of our spiritual abundance, do not be surprised when it comes back to you— “give and it shall be given to you, pressed down, packed together, running over, shall be heaped back to you” (Luke 6:38). When we share the Word of God with others, somehow, it seems to come back to us in some way to touch our lives. You cannot out-give God. Keith Thomas
[1]Charles R. Swindoll, Swindoll’s Ultimate Book of Illustrations and Quotes, published by Thomas Nelson, Page 109.
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