“Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.”
Mark 16:15
Let’s face it! Sharing the gospel can be intimidating. We often feel inadequate to approach someone and share the good news of Jesus Christ with them. We can often convince ourselves that we do not know enough Scripture or the person is not interested. We will also say to ourselves, “It is not the right time, perhaps tomorrow,” yet tomorrow only offers up another excuse.
No matter how we slice it, the root cause of our unwillingness is the simple fact that we are afraid of failure. We worry that people will tell us no, rejecting the offer of salvation. We can often fail to remember that the gospel’s convicting power is the Holy Spirit’s job; our job is to share the message by faith as the Holy Spirit leads us.
“The convicting power of the gospel is the Holy Spirit’s job;
our job is to share the message by faith as the Holy Spirit leads us.”
Jesus once shared a parable about a sower, a person who plants seeds. Some of the sower’s seeds fell beside the road, on rocky ground, among weeds, and some fell on good soil. The birds came and consumed the seed beside the road. The seed that fell on rocky ground withered and died because it had no moisture. The seeds among weeds also died because the weeds choked them out. However, the seed that fell on good ground flourished and yielded a crop a hundred times as much.
What do we see in this story? The first thing we see is there are many types of soil where seeds will not take root and flourish, and, likewise, there are many types of people in the world where the seed of God’s word will not take root but perish. We also see that the sower remained committed and continued to cast his seeds regardless of the various soils. That is what God expects of us when sharing the gospel, to remain committed to telling people about Jesus regardless of how people receive the good news.
When we obediently share the gospel, we please God regardless of whether the one who hears the message chooses to accept Jesus or not. If a person decides not to accept Jesus as Savior and Lord, that’s on that person, not us. We did our part, as did the Holy Spirit, but the person closed off their heart to God’s saving grace. It was not in that person’s will to accept Jesus, and God will respect that person’s choice.
Therefore, let us set out each day with the mindset of the sower and remain steadfast and committed to casting the seed of God’s word. Now, whether it takes root or not, let’s leave that in the more than capable hands of the Holy Spirit.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is taken from the New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
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