Spread the Word
A devotion looking at our call to Spread the Word of God based upon Jesus’ parable about the farmer broadcasting seed on the ground as a analogy to sharing the Good News with others.
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SCRIPTURE:
That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Whoever has ears, let them hear.” —Matthew 13:1-9—
THOUGHT:
Recently, I had a wonderful conversation with a friend about how to spread the Word of God and tell others about salvation. We were specifically discussing how we feel if someone doesn’t get saved from our efforts. It was a conversation that led to two different revelations. One, although as Christians, we love others and would love to bring the to salvation – God is in charge of that. Second, if we think that we have the power to do this by ourselves, we need to look inside of us and decide why we are trying to spread the message of salvation. For Gods’ Kingdom? Or for our own self-pride.
I thought about the Parable of the Sower in the scripture above. Each person hears Gods’ Word at a different time, with a different environment, in the different times (or soils) of their lives. We may be the person that meets them in the era of their unbelief. Or we may be the person at the end of their search for God. Either way, God is in charge. Whether we meet the soon-to-be Christian or the person who is struggling just to figure out this God thing, we are only the conduit for the message, through the Holy Spirit. When and if we are blessed enough to be the person who encourages someone to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, then our attitude should be one of thankfulness and overflowing love for Gods’ Power through us. If we decide that, in our own power, we have been solely instrumental in a persons’ search for salvation, then we are guilty of the sin of pride. When we take on this sin, then we are setting not only ourselves up for the proverbial “feet of clay”. Subsequently, if we feel we are that powerful by ourselves, then we may even be tainting the authenticity of the persons’ conversion and rebirth experience and it sets them up for a fall as well.
I believe that we are here to build Gods’ Kingdom. One of the opportunities to accomplish this may be to lead someone to Christ. Yet, we need to be in prayer that God, the Holy Spirit, will lead us and build us hope for just the right moment and to say just the right words. We also need to pray that our human goals are in sync with what God wants and more importantly, with the perfect timing of God.
So, continue to preach the Good News. Like John Wesley said:
Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can.
Yet….do it through prayer, guidance, and FOR Gods’ Kingdom.
PRAYER:
Thank you Holy Spirit for the power of salvation. Help guide us Help encourage us. Give us the power and tenacity we will require to encourage others to join Gods’ Kingdom. Help us to use humility as a boundary and allow God to speak through us to anyone in need.
AMEN.
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