Keep on sowing
This lesson will be a great failure if you and I look at this equation and give up.
Knowing that most will not respond to the gospel is zero excuse for not sharing it. A remnant is all that responds and sometimes the response of the remnant is weak. That did not cause God to give up, and we are remiss if we do. Sow, sow, sow both in word and in deed. Have a lifestyle that is God-style and a mouth that honors and invites.
In my clinic 3 days before this lesson was taught I had an opportunity for God-style. In my frequent clinics at the Augusta State Medical Prison inmates are brought from other institutions to see me. My efficiency relates to timely arrival and sometimes inmates will refuse or other administrative or security things beyond my awareness impact that. In the event this week it turned out that I would get to the point where almost all the inmates which were there had had their exams. Just as I would be wrapping up another camp (a.k.a. prison) arrive with 3 or 4 more inmates. We would take care of their needs and figure all was done and, Yep, you guessed it, another camp would arrive. This continued long after the time point when all camps usually were on site.
That can eat at the entire team because each member is keen on getting all the work attended to. When we cycle through, “I guess we are done,” to “here are a few more tasks,” over and over again some static can build up. It may just be static in my mind, but the thing is as the doctor in charge of that clinic my static is strong static. I can spark and sputter my annoyances everywhere. I can even get away with refusing to see people.
Well, and this is the point of God-style as I experienced it that day: it was clear in my mind during these events what the proper response was. The proper approach, both professionally and spiritually, was to keep on keeping on being deferential and compassionate in every single step all the way to the end. Professionally there was little risk that I would stick around. Like it or not that role is not fuzzy. Like so many things though professional activities do not always get carried out with God-style.
So I knew what was to be done, but did not want to do it. I knew that my actions would be observed and wanted to be on God’s path. I suspect, though I forget now, that I prayed for help. It worked and I not not flash my annoyance around that day. That is to God’s glory.
I don’t write that to pump up a whit of things about myself. I write that because the battle for godliness, the God-style, is an internal one. Others see only the external. So when static is felt and a proper outward response is given, that is sowing. That is fighting back against the discouraging equation of the ages. It will be seen and noticed and helpful in calling the remnant to the next level. (remember we don’t know who the remnant is; they are around us, but only God knows who they are.)
Lane Ulrich says
After I wrote this and was tooling around on the news I came across this page: https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/mike-pence-s-holocaust-day-message-sparks-jewish-outrage-1.5768602
The author, Allison Sommer, pointed out that much of the language used by Mr. Pence was had legitimate Jewish roots. I found myself intrigued by this article for two reasons. First, my curiosity was piqued by the author not making the tweets a platform for a similar rant. It seemed to be a legitimate look at what was actually going on. It was not merely reactionary journalism. Second, the tweets grounded me, again, in the nature of interpersonal conflict. The people Satan brings against Israel in the future will be of similar vehemence. That vehemence exists in many quarters today even though my day-to-day experience is somewhat isolated from it.