Verse: Acts 1:8
8“…you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Devotional Thoughts:
I remember during my senior football season, we were playing JCS. It was a huge rivalry, and the game was coming down to the wire. JCS was primarily a passing team, so our coach spent much of the game playing smaller, faster defensive lineman, hoping to get a quick pass rush. At least on the defensive side of the ball, I spent the game rotating in and out with these smaller players, depending on the likelihood of run or pass.
So, as I said, the game was coming down to the wire. We were up by 4 points, with 1:00 minute to play, and JCS had the ball. Get a stop, and we win. If they score a touchdown, we likely don’t have time left to score. Coach calls a timeout to talk with the defense for a minute. To my surprise, one of these smaller defensive ends runs over to me and says, “Zac, can you go in for me? I don’t want to be on the field for this last drive.” So, of course, I jog onto the field for the final drive.
He sidelined himself. At the biggest moment in the game, he checked out. I don’t know why. It could’ve been nerves, maybe he was tired, maybe he had an injury that I was unaware of. I don’t know. It just seemed strange to me that he would go to the sidelines at the biggest moment in the game.
But so many Christians do the same exact thing.
We know the Great Commission. We know that we are to make disciples. We know that we are to be Christ’s witnesses both here and far away. We know we live in a world full of people who don’t know the Lord.
And even still, we sideline ourselves. And we think, “Oh, well, I’m not talented enough to talk to people about Jesus.” Or, “I don’t have good enough people skills to present the Gospel to someone.” Or, “I’m shy. I’m an introvert.” Maybe, “I don’t know the Bible well enough to be good at witnessing to someone.”
Points to Ponder:
Here’s the point I want to make to you today – we must not let our perceived lack of ability effect our availability.
If the spreading of the Gospel has everything to do with how talented and knowledgeable the people spreading it are, then Christianity would’ve died out long ago. If spreading the Gospel rested solely on our abilities, then Jesus almost certainly wouldn’t have entrusted it to a bunch of fishermen.
God wants to use ordinary people to accomplish incredible things. But that can’t happen when we’re on the sidelines. So, when it comes to making disciples, don’t be a spectator. Be a contributor. Who do you know that doesn’t know Jesus? And if you don’t know any unbelievers, then that probably means that you need to expand your social circle.
In Luke 19:10, Jesus says that he came to “seek and save the lost.” If we’re following Jesus, then that’s something that we’ll be determined to do too.
