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Reaching Out
[audio:ReachingOut.mp3|titles=TGIForgiven|artists=Christian St John]
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John Henry Jowett, a pastor in the early 19th Century once said, “Ministry that costs nothing accomplishes nothing.”
From my own experience I know this to be true; I have had to give up much to follow Jesus and preach his Word. But there’s still that part of me that wants to take it easy, to sit back and get all I can out of life without having to put in too much effort. The fact is I live in beautiful part of the world and I have at my fingertips all the trappings that this life can afford – cars, boats, cable and satellite TV, the Internet, bigger and better TV’s and computers, iPod’s, iPhone’s, iBooks, and a whole host of things that begin with the letter ‘i’. And the temptation is always there to want more, to pursue more, and to get more… I call this the Cookie Monster lifestyle – see cookie, want cookie, eat cookie. The problem is this can lead all lead to apathy and complacency within the Body of Christ, something we see all too often these days.
Life for a believer has to be about more than just gaining more stuff. If we put any weight behind what Scripture says then life for a believer is meant to be about going out into the world and making disciples, and teaching them all that Jesus has taught us. In short, we are to freely share what we have freely been given and reach out in God’s love to a lost and hurting world. But some justify their lack of action by saying that they are no good at outreach and speaking to people about the Gospel and Jesus and God and so on. If this is you then I say welcome to the club. I don’t know one person who feels 100% comfortable with outreach 100% of the time.
In Luke 14:25-34 Jesus speaks about counting the cost and concludes, “Simply put, if you’re not willing to take what is dearest to you, whether plans or people, and kiss it good-bye, you can’t be my disciple.” (Luke 14:33 – The Message). Outreach can be awkward, confusing, and challenging. I can take up much time and effort and may even end up costing us family, friends, position, money, and in some cases our very lives. But again, like John Henry Jowett said all those years ago, “Ministry that costs nothing accomplishes nothing.”
Christian St John M.Div, BChM, ACS
July, 2009