YOU Are Important!

Have you ever considered how important YOU are to the kingdom of God?  Now I am not just talking about how much God loves you, but how important your role is in the propagation of the Gospel.  Your life, your actions, your words and even your thoughts have major repercussions in how others see and either receive or reject the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

When we became Christians we were not only given a new life, but charged with the responsibility of and given the necessary power of the Holy Ghost to share what we got!  Pretty awesome, don’t you think, that our heavenly Father would so entrust us with such an important task?  He has given to each of us the ability (and the tools) to share the decision of life or death with those we come into contact with!  Romans 1:16 says that the gospel of Christ “is the power of God unto salvation (Greek, “soteria”, meaning “safety”, “preservation”, “healing”, and “soundness” – Scofield)  to everyone that believeth…” (KJV)

As I was studying from Paul’s second letter to Timothy this morning, I saw clearly that the attacks that have come against my character over the last few years were not pointed directly to me, but toward the Gospel life that we have chosen (to attempt) to live.  And like I mentioned in a post a couple of days ago, it is not through my power, my smarts or by my personal retribution that I will be able to correct what I may feel needs to be changed in order to correct a wrong.

2 Timothy 1:8 says we go through these persecutions by the power of God.  Paul wrote: “Instead by God’s power, join me in suffering for the sake of the Good News.” (God’s Word ©)  I know of many fellow Pastors who have been intensely hurt by the words and/or actions of a few members of their congregations.  Some of them actually left the ministry because of those hurts.  Many times as ministers of the Gospel (be we licensed, ordained, lay leaders or just members of the congregation) we will be the recipients of the angry emotions of those that we reach out to minister to.

At these times we have to remember our commission and the ONE whom we represent and not allow ourselves to take those hard words and/or actions personally.  For many of us though, this is easier said than done!  I have personally felt this pressure from individuals in our congregations over the years, but have always been able to trust in the Lord for whatever the outcome and lived through it.  What totally blindsided me though, was when the attack came through our immediate family.  That was something that I did not expect.  But knowing that the attack was really against the Gospel we have chosen to follow and not against us personally has made the experience easier to handle and the healing quicker to achieve.

The key to any attack is to remember that we never go through it alone!  The love of our heavenly Father and His power are always there to assist us in whatever stage of the experiences of life that we are in.  He has given each of us a very important job and will do whatever is necessary to support us in the success of our daily missions for Him!

Remember… YOU are VERY important to Him and are a KEY to the success of His quest to have His message touch every individual in this world.  Kind of makes you feel pretty special doesn’t it?  Well… it should!  YOU are SPECIAL to Him!  Have a great weekend.  Stay in tune to His Word and keep asking yourself… “What am I expecting today?”