I do not remember who said it, but I once heard something that resurfaces in my thoughts, and it went (somewhat) like this:
We need to remember that there are people around us, ones we work with, neighbours, families on your kid’s soccer team, the cashier at your grocery store, who are the future inhabitants of hell.
Quite a statement, indeed, and one that many of us might view as a rather extreme, and possibly even a negative way to look at those around us. And yet …
Recently, in a post called He May Never Know …, I shared about how a young man introduced our son to the love of God, and how he had greatly encouraged him, with his unconditional acceptance and love.
The spirit of God resides in us, but it is not for our benefit alone. The Spirit is the seed, our trust and faith in that seed is the soil, and how we live is the fruit.
It is the fruit of how we choose to live our lives, how we choose to treat others, that either entices or repels others to the seed (Spirit) within us.
Dr. Charles Stanley said,
” … all of us need to be encouragers because we live in a world full of people who are discouraged.”
And how do we encourage the discouraged? By allowing the seed of the Spirit to grow and ripen in our lives, until it bursts from us in the sweetest of fruits … in the form of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control (that last one is a struggle for me, in so many areas).
Though Christ can, and does, work in spite of us, I would suggest that if his Spirit is living within us, he purposes that we work with him in the pursuit of rescuing lost souls.
Perhaps I am wrong in my assertion, but what if I am right?
itsawonderfilledlife 