Paul's Mission

Acts 26:15-18 "And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. But rise, and stand upon they feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee and minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee; Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me."

Isn't this simply the most amazing mission statement? "To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God..." Although these are the words spoken to Paul, I believe that these are words that each and every Christian should follow and claim as their aim and goal. When Christ saves us and makes us His own, we become ministers of the Gospel for Him. We become the tools that He will use to chisel the lives of others. Our job is to help bring hope to a helpless dying world because Jess did that for us. The words above weren't spoken to some good ole guy. They were spoken to a Christian killer! God turned his life around for the purpose of Paul turning other men to Christ. The same is true for us, because although we may not have been murderers, we were still just as lost in our sin as Saul was before Christ gave him a new name and a new purpose. 

Here's a question: When you look at wicked people in the world, what do you see? Do you see wicked, evil people, or do you see sick and dying people? It's easy to only see the wicked and evil, but if we can step out of our pride to see that they are simply lost and dying people, we see our mission clearer. Our job isn't to take down the wicked, but to open their eyes to the light that their lives are missing. We have to be willing to take those risks though. There are times when conflicts will arise, when even Christian friends will misunderstand, but we can't let that stop us from sharing Christ with unbelievers. That's what we're called to do. Way too many people keep trying to save the saved. We need to be willing to step out of our comfort zones and start ministering to those in our lives and communities that do not see the wondrous light of Christ. That's what Paul did. I pray that God gives me the strength and courage to do the same.