Discussion Board
What Can We Spare or What Will It Take?
Posted on Dec 31st, 2009 at 2:19 PM
A family serving overseas in an unreached country recently sent us this email. This brother and sister packed their bags in the United States and moved with their three girls to work with people who were previously totally unengaged with the Gospel. Listen to one of the things he said when talking about the millions who have still not heard the Gospel…
How many people have not believed because they have not heard? What will it take for those people to hear? Have they not heard because there is no one to tell them? What can we do, in obedience to God, to change a world in which there are millions and millions of people who cannot call on the name of the Lord? Most of us would say we know the answer to that question. Many of us would say we are even doing things to change the situation. But the truth is, there will continue to be millions and millions of people who do not hear as long as we continue to use spare time and spare money to reach them. Those are two radically different questions. “What can we spare?” and “What will it take?”
What a huge difference. What can we spare and what will it take? So what happens when a faith family says we’re not going to be content to only give what we can spare? What happens when a church says, “We are going to give what it takes to meet urgent spiritual and physical need around the world”? May God give us grace to give whatever it takes in the days ahead…
Comments
I am currently serving overseas where the majority of people are unbelievers and are satisfied with dying because it will be better than the life they currently live. Many of the believers here are satisfied with hearing their neighbors make this statement and doing nothing about it to compell them to come to the banquet. I have been challenged beyond my current work. Where it starts is seeing the blood of our neighbors on our hands- every minute of the day, and responding out of love... no matter the cost. This is my challenge.
Posted on Aug 13th, 2010 at 8:33 PM by unknown
Thank you for sharing this. As a pastor of a rural church in another state I am greatly inspired and challenged to apply some of the principles of the radical experiment in my own life and also in the church I pastor. God's grace really is enough, and I am praying now with a "what will it take?" mindset. Again, thank you.
Posted on Jan 4th, 2010 at 9:15 AM by unknown
This definitely brings me back to the transformative thought that our Task is finishable. As Dr. Platt put it, giving God a "blank check" has intensified my relationship with Christ, and brought me into a life where I am both concerned with what it is that I'm doing in my current context to make disciples of all nations, and also with how I can step out of my comfort zone, where I thrive, for His glory. These questions are imperative for every follower of Christ to ask himself or herself: now. I thank God for the ability to reason and to see His majesty through the freedom these questions bring.
Posted on Jan 6th, 2010 at 1:16 PM by unknown
wow, that really slapped me in the face, what a huge difference in thinking that is, thank you for the challenge.
Posted on Jan 6th, 2010 at 2:12 PM by unknown