Are you concerned about others? Do you hope for a better life for them? Are you concerned about your fellow countrymen? Do you long to see positive change taking place? Are you concerned for their souls?
I’m sure most of us are concerned for our families. We long for our children to be successful and enjoy good lives. We care for our friends, wishing them well. We celebrate the achievements of our children and grandchildren.
When it comes to our country, we run into obstacles. When people are asked what needs to change, the answers are as varied as the people you ask. There are so many different interests, different agendas, resulting in us being pulled apart at the seams. How do we change that and become unified?
Perhaps we should take a lesson from the Apostle Paul. Perhaps we should seek to save everyone we come in contact. Perhaps we need to bring people into the kingdom of God and make them disciples of Jesus Christ. Perhaps we need to teach them what the Bible really says rather than teaching someone’s opinion of what it says.
Might I suggest we unify around the Word of God and seek to do God’s will rather than our own. You see, regardless of whether you are a baker or a candlestick maker, you have been commissioned by God to bring people into His kingdom. You don’t need to be a pastor, preacher, evangelist, nor a Sunday School teacher to do this. You need to be a friend, a family member, someone who cares about their eternal life.
Paul was using his apostleship to the Gentiles in an effort to make the Jews jealous to turn them to Jesus. Sounds a bit unconventional, doesn’t it? Yet sometimes the unconventional is exactly what needs to be done to reach someone. In the military, they call that out flanking someone. You come at them from the side rather than head on. Full frontal confrontation typically doesn’t work. It becomes very bloody very quick. Often victory comes at a very high cost. Using unconventional methods can bring about results with far lesser costs.
I suppose the question we must wrestle with is this, do we care enough about our friends, family, and co-workers to convince them to accept Jesus as their Savior? Another question comes to mind, do we care enough about God’s church to bring more people into it? If we don’t care, we can’t be surprised when our churches disappear, and our family and friends are not with us for eternity.
I pray we all take on the commission to bring people into God’s kingdom. I pray we care about the eternal lives of others. I pray each one of us commits to bringing at least one person to Christ in the near future. Commit to God’s commission. Choose to care about others. Choose to make a positive change. Teach the Bible. Trust God’s promises.
Romans 11:13-14 I am talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I take pride in my ministry in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of them.
Marty Pressey 