December 22, 2009 – People Everywhere
Scripture: Matthew 28:19, Acts 1: 8 (NIV)
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations…
…and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Devotion:
As I get older the world seems to get smaller. Afghanistan, Iran, Korea, and a thousand other places used to seem so far away but they seem to be right here with us – in our conversations, in our prayers, and on our televisions.
I have long been a people watcher. God gave me the gift (sometimes curse) of being sensitive to people – it’s very much a part of why I’m where I am in my life. People are interesting – sometimes they are funny, sometimes they make you cry, and sometimes you just want to smack them upside the head! I recently saw a saying, “I love Jesus. People are difficult.” We joke about a lot of things being easier if it weren’t for people. But Jesus came for us – the difficult, the whining, the broken, the arrogant, the people. We are everywhere and we are right here.
I’ve been on mission trips to Mexico and Brazil. I’ve also been to Mobile and Andalusia. I’ve worshiped in churches in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mexico, and Brazil. And I’ve noticed that people are pretty much the same. Sure the circumstances may differ and the color of their skin may be different but basically they are the same – deep down they need the same thing: they need to know that there is hope and that there is a God who loves them. We are called to be His witnesses and we are called to go to the very same people that He came to earth to reach. Yes, they can be difficult and unloving but then again, if we are honest, aren’t we also difficult and unloving?
“Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see”.
Can we, with clear conscience, withhold the gift of this amazing grace from those who need it still?
Father, move us. Let us see the people around us as You see them. Break our hearts for them and open our mouths to speak Your love to them. Lord, remind us of the joy when we first heard of Your love for us and give us a hunger to share it with others until all have heard the good news and come home to You. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
