Where is really my passion?

 


Yesterday I received the following WhatsApp message from Bishop Anjan, PEC Coordinator for Odisha..

"Sir, today we had a good time with some of our church planters at Joba, Rayagada. Many of us have decided to move to different places to start new work. I myself have decided to move to Ambadala 40 km from here. And other pastors also have decided to move to different places. Few church planters needs house rent to stay in the new field.

To start gospel work we need leaflets, new testaments etc. I have finished writing a leaflet in Oriya language title, " Life is the gift of God".  I need to print it at least 2000 copies. 

Kindly pray for all these things sir so that we can work effectively &  much better than  before.

Thank you very much sir."

I was almost moved to tears after reading this message. The passion for the lost, the passion for the Lord is simply overwhelming in these men. Bishop Anjan and his team of pastors have already achieved much in the mission field, much more than many "good people" I know. I know these men persoanlly. They have trained so many people for church planting,  planted hundreds of churches, brought whole villages to Christ in the interior parts of Odisha and yet, there is the ardent compulsion that keeps them pushing the boundaries in evangelism. It is an echo of Jesus's own words in Luke 4:43 - “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.”

I asked myself why is that I don't have that kind of passion? Why is it that these men, are willing to leave all their achievements, their  comfort and go to new terrain fo the sake of the gospel, while I feel so accomplished and feel I have done it all, when the fact is I have not done half of what these men have done.

I guess you too must be feeling the same. 

When I forwarded this message to some of my friends, except for one or two, most of the responses were cold , some even muted. 

We all love the same Lord, we all serve the same Master but I guess we all have different priorities in life and serve the Lord at different levels of commitment or maybe we have not taken the Great Commission seriously. We probably have sidelined it because of our busyness or indifference and we have good reasons to justify our neglect.

Many us our are satisfied serving the Lord in the church, doing the church routines and filling the pews and even preaching and teaching others. And this is important and we must do these things. It does give joy but is that all we are called to do?

What will it take for us to see the Great Commission as a personal responsibility, something that should be our first concern and the first of our priorities. 

What will it move us to say like the Apostle Paul:

  • 1 Cor 9:16 - For when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, since I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!
If I am serious about ending gospel poverty, then it's about time, I start going on my knees and ask the Lord to burden me with His desires and not mine, to see the field ready for harvest and to see the lostness of man without Christ. I need to ask the Lord to remove the veil that is preventing my eyes from seeing the destiny of those without Christ. I need to be broken to see the heart of God, the missionary heart that is looking for the lost sheep. It's only then can I cry like the prophet Isaiah, "Here am I Lord, sent me."

God help me!!

‘Let My Heart be Broken by the Things that Break the Heart of God’ - Bob Pearce

Comments

  1. Cliff and CherylNovember 4, 2021 at 1:55 AM

    Great reminder. WONDERFUL GOD served by committed, faithful men and women are used by Him to change the world.

    ReplyDelete

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