“Lord, You give the great commission: “Heal the sick and preach the
Word.”
Lest the Church neglect its mission, and the Gospel go unheard,
Help us witness to Your purpose with renewed integrity,
With the Spirit’s gifts empower us for the work of ministry.
Lord, You call us to Your service: “In My Name baptize and teach.”
That the world may trust Your promise, life abundant meant for each,
Give us all new fervor, draw us closer in community.
With the Spirit’s gifts empower us for the work of ministry.”
-Jeffery W.
Rowthorn (1978)
This is one of my favorite church
hymns. As you listen, you can envision Jesus sending out the apostles on a bright
morning, the blusterous winds blowing their hair all around; the apostles being
strengthened by the Holy Spirit. They are to be sent to preach the Gospel to
all the corners of the earth. The apostles were probably not physically
prepared, but they did have the confidence and the reassurance of Christ.
This great story should have the
same meaning for all of us. When we are thrown into situations where we feel
unprepared, we should be re-assured of Christ’s presence at all times. We must
be vigilant at all times, ready to preach the Gospel at all costs. With this
great mission, we also are aware that many times we will be faced with
opposition, many times from our own brothers, our own families and friends.
These very people who we least expect ridicule or harm from can try to derail
our mission due to misunderstanding, but with steadfast faith, hope and love
for our Creator, we shall not be shaken. We shall continue to push forward the
mission of Christ and call others to venture closer to him. If one of our
brothers or sisters is ridiculing us for doing something to help bring people
closer to the truth about our Lord, then we use this opportunity to pray for
them and then never cease doing what we know is right. Never can it be said
that evangelization is a not a good thing.
Over the course of these past few
months I have received much feedback about my blog from family and friends, but
a lot from new visitors. Most of the feedback has been very positive. I’m glad
to know that my writings are helpful enough for people to use them as a
resource to discern their vocations more closely. Surprisingly, I have also
received negative feedback. I have received negative reactions comments about
my letter to President Obama and for having a “corny” writing style when
describing seminary life and aspects of prayer and faith. Despite these criticisms,
I have no intention of giving up my blog or writing. My writing is not for my
own benefit, but it is for the laborers whom the Lord of the Harvest has called
to explore the opportunity to serve him in this way.
Evangelization will always be confronted
with criticism, but the important thing to do is to continue on the path that
the Lord has sent us on. Christ himself was faced with scrutiny and criticism
each and every day while He continuously told us the truth. Isn’t our goal to
become more like him? If so, then we are on the right path. We will never give
up doing what we have been called to do despite those who totally misunderstand
our mission. We are always in the presence of Christ and He will never lead us
astray or put us through something that we can’t handle. Don’t give up on him.
He never gave up on us.
.jpg)
