Should I tell my neighbor about the fire?
“Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience. We are not commending ourselves to you again but giving you cause to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast about outward appearance and not about what is in the heart. For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:11-21, ESV
If we love them, we will tell them.
The California fires in November of this past year were the deadliest on record. The speed at which these fires moved caught many off guard and created a nightmare. The home videos of families driving through roads surrounded by flames captured some of the intensity and horror that these fires produced.
State officials sent out alerts for residents in the path of danger to flee from their homes to a place of safety. But for many those warnings came too late. Those who died in the flame either did not receive a timely warning or they did not heed the warning quickly enough.
God in His Word sends us a warning that a fire of judgment is coming with speed and certainty upon every person. Our merciful Lord makes a safe passage for each of us to escape. That safe passage is His own Son, Jesus, who endured the flames of the punishment for sin that we deserved. God calls us to flee from the fire by placing our lives in the care of Christ.
When a person finds safety in Jesus, God makes that person His “ambassador” to tell others that a fire is coming and that God has made a way of escape through His Son. We are a people who know the reality of the danger. We are a people who know the security of Christ’s salvation. We are a people now tasked to tell others the Gospel. Knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. The love of Christ controls us. We must not — we cannot — sit in our place of safety without telling those still in danger about their need for Jesus!
Prayer:
Lord, please give me eyes to see the eternal danger that my friends and family who are without Christ are facing. Please give me courage to share the Gospel with them, even though I know they may be angry with me for it. Please give me wisdom to know how best to persuade them of the goodness of Jesus. And please open their eyes so that they will see what they do not presently see: your glory in the face of Jesus.
Memory Verse: “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” 2 Corinthians 5:20 ESV