The Story of Us: Acts Chapter 13-14 (July 8-July 14)
Day One:
This week I want to share with you one of my biggest struggles. It is
extremely difficult living with the burden of having close family members and
friends who choose not to follow Christ.
Satan reminds me of this fact every day.
As a result, I am often filled with worry for them and try relentlessly
to turn them to Christ. I am what some
would call a “people fixer” (I blame my mother).
Now you might ask, what is so wrong with caring for someone this
deeply? The problem is, this type of
“caring” is really a form of idolatry.
Before you passionately object please hear me out. I’m NOT telling you
to stop demonstrating Christ in your everyday behavior with your non-Christian
loved ones. I beg you, do all things in
the name of the Lord. However, if you
only concern yourself with a select few people you are missing out on entire
world of people who need your help!
After all, Matthew 28:19 says to make disciples of all nations not just
your family and friends.
In chapter 13 of
Acts we learn from Paul and Barnabas how we as Christians are supposed to
respond when people reject the gospel.
Verse 51 says that after they got chased out of Antioch, “they shook off
the dust from their feet against them and went to Iconium”. That is what we must do. We must shake off the dust and move on to the
next person who desperately needs the Lord Jesus Christ.
To further remove
any pressure, I want you to know that you are not ultimately responsible for
leading your loved ones to Christ. To confirm this, I’d like to share something
I recently read out of Ezekiel. When Ezekiel received a vision from God telling
him what to say to the Jews in exile, God said, “‘this is the Message of God,
the Master.’ Speak your piece, whether they listen or not”(Ezekiel 3:11 MSG). The important thing is not converting others,
although there is unspeakable joy when this happens, but rather, it is being
obedient to God’s voice. Go with God and
be at peace.
-Kyle Bogner
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