Student Ministry - July 2022
How does one change the world? Most people I know would say that they hope their life and work makes an impact on the world. They want to make the world a better place. Even people with extremely divergent opinions on most matters in life have the common desire to make things better. But how one goes about doing that and what “better” really means is where the difficulty lies. As Christians, how would we answer that question? How does a Christian change the world and make it better?
As we read scripture, we see that Jesus came into the world because He knew it was broken and in need of fixing. Sin is the ultimate cause of this brokenness, and its symptoms are wide and varied. Some words that scripture uses to describe the brokenness Jesus saw are “distressed and dispirited” (Matt. 9:36). People are still distressed and dispirited in the world today. They are oppressed and crushed by the sins of others as well as their own sins. They are lost without a shepherd, and many think they don’t need one. Jesus’ response is what we need to consider as Christians. Jesus responded with compassion and a commission (Matt. 9:37-38, 28:18-20, John 4:34-38). He feels for the lost in this world (something for which we should all be personally thankful), and He told His disciples to do something about it!
Of course, we know that His life, death, and resurrection is what saves us from our sins and the disappointments of this world. The Bible calls this the gospel. Surprisingly, Jesus has chosen to make this news known to people through His disciples. If you call yourself a Christian, then that means you! You are someone He has called to go into the field of the world, sow the seed of the gospel, and reap the harvest of souls coming to know Him as their personal Savior. We must remember what Jesus said about this call so we can faithfully fulfill His command.
Here are 4 things Jesus tells us about the task we have been given:
1) A lot of people need the gospel (Matt. 9:37). The harvest is large. There are a lot of people who need to hear the gospel and be saved from their sins and the disappointments of this world (what an understatement!). Do we know this and feel this?
2) A lot of people are ready for the gospel (John 4:35). The harvest is ripe. There are many people who are ready and eager to hear the message of the gospel and be saved from their sins and disappointments of this world. Do we believe this?
3) We need more people to proclaim the gospel (Matt. 9:37-38). There are not a lot of harvesters. There were not many people ready and able to proclaim the gospel and point people to Christ in that day. And by comparison of the numbers of people living now, there are still not very many people ready and able to proclaim the gospel and point people to Christ to be saved from their sins and the disappointments of this world. Are we moved by this?
4) We need to be faithful to the work of the gospel (John 4:36-38). Working in the field of the harvest means sometimes you reap, sometimes you sow. Sometimes you are just telling people the gospel and they couldn’t care less. Sometimes you are telling people the gospel and they receive and believe immediately. You don’t know what part of God’s work in that person’s heart you are playing, but it doesn’t matter. It is all God’s harvest for God’s glory. How amazing is it that we get to be a part! Will we faithfully obey?
My prayer is that every genuine disciple of Christ would take what our Savior said to heart and respond with a desire to live in loving and faithful obedience to Him who first loved us! We have a job to do and a world to change. All we need to do is live and share the gospel and encourage and equip others to do the same. Let’s get to it!