July 9

The Missionary Spirit

So they set out and went from village to village, preaching the gospel and healing people everywhere. — Luke 9:6 BSB

Many people don’t do this. They come to Christ and hear His command, but they don’t go out and preach or heal. They don’t take the blessings of mercy and healing that they’ve received to other homes and lives. This is deeply ungrateful to Christ, considering all He’s done for us. It’s also very selfish to keep such joy to ourselves instead of sharing it with others who desperately need it.

Christ’s desire is for the gospel to reach every home in the world, and He wants to accomplish this through the hearts and hands of those He has already saved. If we don’t share the good news, those who are lost may never receive it. There’s a story of a boy who, after being converted, immediately set out on foot—because he couldn’t afford a train ticket—on a journey of over a thousand miles to tell his brother about Christ. History tells us that many of the early Christians were so eager to share the gospel that they sold themselves into slavery or hired themselves out as servants just to be admitted into the homes of the rich and powerful among the pagans, so they could tell them about Jesus and His salvation.

It would be life-changing for us to recognize that we are under a divine commission to advance God’s kingdom by leading others to Him. If we only see ourselves as sinners saved by grace with no further responsibility, we won’t be of much use. But when we realize that each of us is an apostle, sent to be a witness for Christ, we will become a blessing to the world.