Share Christ's Life

We don't need to look to hard to find object lessons of scriptural truth all around us.  I found one right in my yard!  From the time we moved into our house about a year and a half ago, the tree in our front yard looked a bit sad.  It was absolutely infested with ants and it wasn't long before bark beetles set upon the gnarled trunk.  After a valiant battle against erosion and pests, I have concluded it has finally died.

My initial hope was that it was a deciduous tree that is dormant during the winter, but when I examined the branches carefully they all appeared to be dry and dead.  Sulfur-crested Cockatoos over the course of several afternoons chewed off most of the tips of the branches when the tree was still alive, and that didn't help matters.  But the other day a small bush caught my eye across the street!  Could it be?  Yes!  It wasn't a bush but a healthy sapling seeded by this dead tree!

When I saw this I considered how that the now dead tree had given life to this young sapling.  I thought of the words Jesus said in John 12:24:  "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain."  As a planting of the LORD, we must do all we can to sow the good seed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ while we are still alive.  The day will come when we will leave this earth and be unable to move rocks, plow, plant, water, or harvest a bountiful crop.

The thought of evangelism can be a daunting one for many Christians.  Perhaps to put it into perspective, ask yourself:  what is the worst thing that could happen if you shared your faith?  How do you answer?  I will tell you how I have answered this question:  I could be rejected, scorned, ostracised, slandered, maybe even physically assaulted.  If I boldly shared the Gospel in a country where it is illegal to share your faith, I could be imprisoned, put in a work camp, or solitary confinement.  I could be be subjected to torture and even death.  Even should this be the outcome it is a small loss because I would be instantly ushered into eternal glory in the presence of the LORD and receive great reward.

But you know what God has shown me?  That's a selfish way to answer the question.  I ought to rather consider, "What is the worst possible outcome - not for me - but for those lost people with whom I do not share my faith?"  The answer is simple:  the soul that sins shall surely die.  The wages of sin is death, and those who die in their sins face certain judgment according to God's law and an eternity of torment in hell.  Whose outcome is worse:  my worst case scenario or theirs?

If we desire that others receive life through Christ, our lives will provide the proof.  In God's strength may we do His work while it is day because night is coming when no one can work.  Jesus is coming quickly, and His reward is with Him!