We must be willing to go

And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone. Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned.“ Mark 16:15-16 NLT

"I will go where You send me. To the ends of the earth, Just say the word and I'll go..." were the words I was singing along to on my run yesterday morning as I began to tiptoe through the wet grass because I didn’t want to get my new running shoes dirty as I made my way to the trail. “Melissa,” I felt the Spirit say. “You must be willing to get your shoes dirty because you must be willing to go where I call you to go. And you must be willing to get your hands dirty too.” “Oh my,” I immediately thought to myself. "The majority of people in this world - Christians included - won't reach out to the lost if it means getting their shoes dirty Lord, much less getting their hands dirty. Which means they aren’t going where You are calling them to go. They aren't going to the lost in the inner cities. They aren't reaching out to the unsaved on the side streets and small towns and they certainly aren't going to their neighbors' home whose name they probably don't even know. Please help me to be obedient to go wherever it is you call me Lord no matter the cost.”

And you know, God is calling each one of us to go into dirty places. He is even calling us to go into places that might make us downright uncomfortable. All to share the Good News with people who might be considered to be unloveable, unreachable, modern-day lepers, or beyond saving. Why? Because God loves the lost! And because of His great love for the lost, He has commanded you and me to "go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone." That means it is every believers' duty, commission, assignment, and responsibility to go and bear witness to the Message of Salvation wherever it is we are called so that those who come to believe in Christ by our efforts "will be saved."

So let each one of us be willing to walk into places where our shoes and hands might get dirty that we might fulfill the Great Commission knowing there has never been a greater need in our world than now for the lost to hear about the saving grace that comes only through Jesus Christ. Are you willing? 

Heavenly Father, thank You for being a God who provides the peace that surpasses all understanding. As we look around at all the dissension, chaos and rioting in our nation and in our world today Lord, help us to understand that without You, there is no peace that we might truly grasp how important it is for us to share the Good News. Help us to love others as you do Lord and be bold in sharing the Gospel. It's in your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen.

Happy Running!!!

I will go - Big Daddy Weave