Matthew 28:18-2018 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
I remember shying away from having to distribute tracts. That was back when my church used to do it actively with the members from the morning service, which I attend.
Oh, who am I kidding? It still scares me immensely. I don’t think I would do it even today if my church organised one like the ones they used to do.
It wouldn’t be placing the tracts into letter boxes, like in Germany.
It would be standing and trying to give out tracts, and feeling the sting of rejection when the person walking by refuses it.
Or even worse, if they take it, read it, and decide to give it back. Or having to answer their questions, talking to them about Christ.
There is no language barrier to hide behind in my home country. (Even in Germany, it is more of a perceived barrier than a real one. I can speak German, though people might not think that I do since I clearly do not look German.)
What does this have to do with my trip, then? Did I learn anything?
One, it made me come to terms with how ill-prepared I am to talk about and defend the gospel that I believe.
Just as in my very first post where I shared my testimony, I mentioned how little I talk about it.
This is something else that I don’t spend enough time thinking of and speaking of. It’s an area of my life that I need to change. A part where I need to improve.
The second is a lesson is the one that relates to the title of this post: obedience.
It’s a lesson that the pastor who led the team shared at one of the devotionals.
It’s not you that people reject when they refuse a tract. It’s Christ whom they are rejecting.
As Christians, it is simply doing what you ought to do. And that is sharing the gospel.
And we do it because God has told us to do it. In a word: obedience.
It’s not on you whether the person believes or not. It’s the Holy Ghost that is able to convict men of sin. It’s Christ who died for all mankind.
Our duty as Christians is to obey God’s command to tell others about Christ.
We should take the Great Commission seriously. I should take it seriously and go forth to share the gospel with the people who have not heard it. After all, it is because someone did take it seriously, that I am saved today.
I don’t mean that it has to be a mission trip abroad. I should do it even in my homeland. Especially in my homeland.
Missions starts at home.
The verses that came to mind as an encouragement to do this were Romans 1:16 and 2 Timothy 1:7.
Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
2 Timothy 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
I pray that God will give me the strength to share His word with someone this week.
Leave a Reply