JULY 14, 2015
The Likes of Us
Ask
the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.— Matthew 9:38
Read:
Matthew
9:35-38
In
the late 19th century, William Carey felt a call to travel to India as a
missionary to share the good news of Jesus. Pastors around him scoffed: “Young
man, if God wants to save [anyone] in India, He will do it without your help or
mine!” They missed the point of partnership. God does very little on earth
without the likes of us.
As
partners in God’s work on earth, we insist that God’s will be done while at the
same time committing ourselves to whatever that may require of us. “Your
kingdom come. Your will be done,” Jesus taught us to pray (Matt. 6:10). These
words are not calm requests but holy demands. Give us justice! Set the world
aright!
We
have different roles to play, we and God. It is our role to follow in Jesus’
steps by doing the work of the kingdom both by our deeds and by our prayers.
We
are Christ’s body on earth, to borrow Paul’s metaphor in Colossians 1:24. Those
we serve, Christ serves. When we extend mercy to the broken, we reach out with
the hands of Christ Himself.
Lord, You have called us Your friends. In some small way, help
us to show Your love to this hurting world so they will know You.
Expect great things from God; attempt
great things for God. William Carey
INSIGHT:
Matthew’s gospel presents Jesus to the Jewish
people as their long-promised Messiah. Matthew primarily uses two methods to
make this powerful assertion, both of which were intended to resonate deeply with
his audience. First, he repeatedly uses Old Testament scriptures that describe
Christ and are fulfilled in Jesus. Second, a critical part of Matthew’s
argument for Jesus as the King of the Jews was Jesus’ compassionate power on
display. This is seen in Matthew 9 where Jesus rescues the broken, the hurting,
the marginalized, and the hated.
Source: Our Daily Bread 2015
