Day 2459 of the 7 day Bible verse challenge.
1 Corinthians 9:16 NIV
There's just no room for ego in our faith or the sharing of this message that has been entrusted to us. And that's yet another reason that it's so hard for many to fully accept and understand. The Gospel leads us away from everything we've ever known and everything we've lived so long thinking was important. It requires us to let go, to surrender, to trust in someone other than ourselves. And that's a hard lesson to learn for pretty much everyone.
We're used to living our lives in such a way that gives us the opportunity to brag about our accomplishments. We want to be able to share these stories where we're the heroes and everything we do is a roaring success. We want to look good, to look important, to look powerful to those around us because that's what we've been told is important. That's what we've learned to think and we don't know any other way to see it.
But that kind of thing just does not work with the Gospel. You see, we're not the heroes of this story. We're not the ones that saved the day. We're not the ones who rescued the damsel in distress like some brave knight who overcame tremendous odds. No, we're the ones who were saved. We're the ones who were found lost and hopeless. We're the ones who were rescued from a horrible situation that could have very easily meant our demise.
So we have no room to boast, or brag, or pat ourselves on the back because we're not the ones who saved the day. That hero is Jesus. He's the one who came for us. He's the one who did what we couldn't to save us from something terrible and tragic that we were facing. He's the one that brought us back from the brink of destruction and gave us the chance to live happily ever after. The only role you and I have to play in this story is sharing it.
That's kind of what we've been talking about for several days now. Our mission is to share the Gospel because it saves lives. It saved our lives and it will do the same for anyone who hears it and takes it to heart. We don't have time to chase glory, make ourselves look good, or fashion these tales where we end up being the savior. Again, that's Christ's place. We're the ones who tell that to everyone we possibly can.
Friends, the bottom line is that sin is still destroying the lives of people all around us. This enemy of all that's good and decent is still wreaking havoc in this place. We can't afford to waste any time worrying about trying to make ourselves look like the hero. It's bigger than us. Our time will always be better spent by telling others about Jesus and the gift of His salvation because that's what people need. That's all they'll ever need because accepting Him as our Lord and Savior is the only way to eternal peace.
When all is said and done, does it really matter if we look good to those around us? Does it matter if we have a bunch of personal stories about things that we managed to accomplish? Do we want people to put their faith and hope in us? Or is it simply more important to point people to the only true hope that any of us have at something better than what our sins have earned? Simply put, not sharing the Gospel isn't an option. We can't afford to leave any soul left untold about the opportunity to be saved for all eternity.
That's one ball that we simply cannot drop because it's bigger than our pride and these earthly lives that we're living for the moment. We may not get to be the hero of this story, but we do get to be a part of telling people who is. And it doesn't get more special than that!
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