"And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give." (Matthew 10:7, 8)
In this passage of scripture, Jesus is sending out the Twelve disciples to spread the gospel. This was a training mission for them. He told them later not to worry about taking extra money and supplies, but to simply concentrate on spreading the Word and the rest would be taken care of for them.
In today's modern world there are only a few churches who do this on a regular basis, but we are all to be living missionaries within our worlds. We don't necessarily have to go door-to-door (although I have done that years ago). In fact, that is probably not the safest thing to do in our world today; however, wherever we go we are to be a living representation of Jesus Christ to the people we meet. We HAVE been given the Great Commission in Matthew 28 to go forth into the world and make disciples. That is for all of us. We have Christ's promise that He will be with us as we go.
Through the years I have often been surprised to meet people who have never even HEARD of Jesus or His message of salvation. We - especially in America - assume everybody has at least heard the most basic message of the gospel, but I have found that to not be the case. Jesus is just a cuss word to many people, but they don't know Him. With all the media available - the printed Bible, tracts, television, radio, the Internet, social media, etc - there are those who have never had the opportunity to have a personal encounter with Jesus. Amazing. Yet sad.
Statistics tell us that the majority of people who come to know the Lord don't do it within the four walls of the church. They don't come to salvation in large meetings or revivals. A vast majority of them don't even come to Him through a television broadcast (although that beats the first two by far). No. The greatest number of people come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ through a personal one-on-one encounter with a Christian - a true-to-life, real, genuine lover of Jesus Christ. Usually it is someone they know, not a stranger.
What about you? How do the people you work with see you? What about the checkout person at your grocery store, your dentist, your doctor, your neighbor, your bowling league, your softball league? The old saying holds true: "You might be the only Jesus someone sees." Do you represent Him well? When you speak, do they hear Jesus? When you act, does the love of Christ come through? You don't have to go around quoting scripture all the time, but you should be walking in love, helping those around you, and living with integrity.
I challenge you today to look at your reflection in the mirror of God's Word. Is your reflection smudged or dirty? If so, take some time to clean it up. Get your heart right with God so you can be a true ambassador for Him in the world. When people see Jesus lifted up in our lives, they will be drawn to Him. Just today. One day at a time. Whenever it is called today.
Be blessed.
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