Rescue those who are being taken away to death;
hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter.
If you say, “Behold, we did not know this,”
does not he who weighs the heart perceive it?
Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it,
and will he not repay man according to his work?
Proverbs 24:11–12 (ESV)
Every time I read this passage, it hits me like a blast of icy water in the face.
"Wake up, Joel! People are standing on the brink of destruction all around you! You can't say you haven't seen them--caught in the lethal embrace of the transient pleasures of this life, tossed about in the vortex of self-gratification. But for the grace of God, you would be among them! What are you going to do about it?"
There's no mistaking the call. Now, how will I respond?
It's a question I've been earnestly wrestling with for the past year. I am convicted that the darkest hour of Earth's great night is nearly upon us, and I long to be among those who shine like the stars.
The secret to a successful, fulfilled life is to have an aim worthy of one's utmost endeavor. Guess what? "Such an aim has been set before the youth of today. The heaven-appointed purpose of giving the gospel to the world in this generation is the noblest that can appeal to any human being!"
(Ed. 262)
Are you in?
Excelsior
"Wake up, Joel! People are standing on the brink of destruction all around you! You can't say you haven't seen them--caught in the lethal embrace of the transient pleasures of this life, tossed about in the vortex of self-gratification. But for the grace of God, you would be among them! What are you going to do about it?"
There's no mistaking the call. Now, how will I respond?
It's a question I've been earnestly wrestling with for the past year. I am convicted that the darkest hour of Earth's great night is nearly upon us, and I long to be among those who shine like the stars.
The secret to a successful, fulfilled life is to have an aim worthy of one's utmost endeavor. Guess what? "Such an aim has been set before the youth of today. The heaven-appointed purpose of giving the gospel to the world in this generation is the noblest that can appeal to any human being!"
(Ed. 262)
Are you in?
Excelsior
Good reminder, thank you! It made me think of Isaiah 42 and 49. Specifically these parts:
ReplyDelete"I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness." Is 42:6,7
"I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth." Is 49:6b
God has chosen and called us, and He will equip us.
Amen! It is the noblest of all aims and callings. We are the only ones who can reach our generation and Christ is coming very soon! Rev. 22:12 Isn't it exciting?! God will save by many or by few and I definitely want to be part of that work! Like Margie said "God has chosen and called us, and HE will equip us". It's all Him!
ReplyDeleteI love the focus in those verses: "I am the Lord," "I have called you," "I will take and keep you," "I will give you as a covenant," "I will make you as a light that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth."
ReplyDeleteThank you both for highlighting the most important point--God is the Lord of the Harvest, and He will accomplish it. We are privileged to be heavenly farmhands :)
I feel like I've been recognizing very similar truths recently. And I, too, have wondered and prayed about practical ways to reach out. Lately, I've also been realizing my insufficiency, my helplessness to bring others to God, and at the same time learning to surrender in fervent prayer knowing that the Holy Spirit will supply my lack if I am willing and intentional.
ReplyDeleteIt's the beauty of God. Like the mother who allows her three-year-old to "help" her bake bread-- knowing full well that the child will likely be more hindrance than help, but includes the child in the task anyway because it's the relationship that is of greatest import. So grateful that God allows us to "help" if we are but willing to allow Him to work in and through us.
"But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere." 2 Corinthians 2:14
"All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation." 2 Corinthians 5:18, 19
Amen!
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite verses is also in 2 Corinthians, and it goes right along with your point. "You are a letter from Christ, delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts." 2 Cor. 3:3. We are envelopes, bearing God's letters to the world.
I guess I feel like in the latest batch (which includes me), God has starting stamping "Urgent" on the front!
Yes!!!
ReplyDeleteHere is a song that really confronts Christans:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yJd0JMzq7k
We need to ask ourselves, "What are we doing?!" "What is the purpose of life?"
We are so distracted and our minds are so deceitful that we can't see the people dying around us, nor do our calloused hearts care... we need to pray for the mind of Christ!
Thanks for sharing, Joel.
Powerful song, Shaila. The mind of Christ...
ReplyDeleteJust stumbled across your blog... I can't agree more. Yes, it is time to do something... By God's grace, we can! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing!