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God
clearly calls us to share the gospel in our
lives. The Scriptures tell us to make
disciples of all nations in the Great
Commission. I was told a long time ago
“following God is not always easy, but it is
always right.” There are times in our
lives where telling others about Jesus is not
easy. If you are faithful to God’s call,
you will at some point be pushed away, rejected,
ignored or even alienated.
During the difficult times it can be easy to
become discouraged, lose your joy, and quit
obeying him. But ultimately, the fruit of
our labor is not the fuel that drives us.
Christ is the fuel that drives. While
there is nothing more joyful than hearing
testimony of a soul coming to Jesus, there are
also dry times where it seems that the seed is
being trampled. Yet even in these times,
we are commanded to keep on.
I was reading in Ezekiel 2 about Ezekiel’s
call to ministry. God spoke to Ezekiel and
said, “I send you to a people, a nation
of rebels.” God said “they
(Israel) are disrespectful and stubborn, I send
you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus
says the Lord God.’” There is
one thing that caught my attention in this
chapter. Two different times God tells him
to share the truth with them “whether they
hear you or refuse to hear you.”
It can be very discouraging when people refuse
to hear. Sometimes we can let it bother us
so much that we stop sharing altogether.
But that is not God’s plan. God wanted
Ezekiel to share the truth regardless of the
reaction of his audience. We are supposed
to do the same. We are unable to save
anyone. We are only called to tell about
saving power of Jesus. It is up to God to
work on their hearts and bring them to
repentance. The fruit of the labor is not
the fuel of the labor. The fuel of the
labor is the fact that Christ saved our wretched
souls and commanded that we be obedient to Him. |