Day 2458 of the 7 day Bible verse challenge.
Acts 20:24 NIV
We talk a lot about how our faith requires selflessness and humility. That's because those two things go against everything that our world is built upon. They go against everything that so many have learned to prioritize. And that fact shows the tremendous odds that we're up against when sharing the message of the Gospel. We're here telling the world that it's wrong and that it needs to change. Not many people want to hear that kind of thing!
Most just want to be left alone to do as they see fit without ever having to stop to consider the possibility that they're making mistakes. People are used to making themselves look good. They're used to living as many lies as it takes to convince others that they're happy, confident, sure, and at peace in their lives. And they will push back against the truth that they're messing up because it unravels their lies and points out the flaws in their armor.
So we're caught between a rock and hard place as they say. God has called us to share His truth in a world that doesn't want to hear it. If we share His message and call people to account for their sins and mistakes then they're going to hate us. That is definitely uncomfortable. It's not easy to follow the road of worldly strife that comes from telling people the truth about sin and the dangers that it poses. After all, who wouldn't want this ride to be as easy and smooth and comfortable as possible?
But what are we going to do? Are we going to ignore the task He's given us in order to avoid the pushback and friction it brings? Are we going to put ourselves and our comfort first and simply blend in and never rock the boat? Are we going to live our lives only telling people what they want to hear even if it means lying to them just so we can be liked and accepted? Or are we going to stand up and proclaim the Gospel as Christ asks us to do?
That's where the selflessness and humility come in. We have to put ourselves aside. We have to stop seeking our own comfort and focusing on what brings us personal glory or peace. As we discussed yesterday, this isn't about us. Putting ourselves first, living to make our lives comfortable, and seeking only what brings us praise and honor in a broken world will require us to go along with what the world does. And that's not good enough.
So as this verse says, our only goal should be to fulfill the charge of sharing the Gospel and pointing people to their only hope for eternal peace and salvation. If we make these lives about us then all we'll ever achieve are things that matter to us. And friends, there is simply far more on the line than a worldly life full of temporary comfort that is only found in going along with the lies and deception that this place finds enjoyable.
The thing we all need to remember is what we find in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20. We are not our own. He paid an unimaginable price to secure our freedom so that we could live for more than the sin and darkness that we'd always known before finding Him. We can't just live for ourselves anymore. We can't focus on doing only what makes us comfortable or brings us some kind of selfish satisfaction.
Sure, proclaiming the truth in a place that despises it isn't going to bring the comfort or worldly peace that we've been taught to seek. But our lives are meant for more than just us. We're a part of something far bigger and we can't afford to make ourselves the goal when He has shown us that this is all far bigger than comfort or worldly praise. After all, Christ didn't trade His mission for those things, and we shouldn't either!
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