I care about lost souls, I genuinely do. But there is a problem. My caring does not motivate me to do. I may do something for lost souls in my community sometimes because I know it is right, but I will be uncomfortable and hope the task ends quickly. This tells me that caring is not enough.
When I possess God’s love and compassion for the lost, it takes me to an entirely new level, but how do I get there? Do I ask, seek, and knock in prayer that God will give me his love for lost souls, or do I discipline myself to pray for the lost and then God answers my prayer by giving me his heart and his love for lost souls? Perhaps both.
When I have the love of God in my heart, then motivation is no longer an issue; but I must realize this is not something I can generate on my own. It is a gift of God that becomes mine as I seek him for what I need to accomplish what I must do. Those who have God’s love in their hearts cannot help but think about lost souls. They cannot sleep at night sometimes. They weep for the lost and get emotional. They plead with God constantly to do what they cannot. This is an act of my will to do the work, but also a prayer to equip me.
I become the hands of Jesus as I pray for lost souls around me and ask God to make me into the image of Jesus. I am asking God’s Spirit to change me. As I do, his heart, his character, and his priorities become mine. This is not a decision I make to do better; it is a prayer I pray because it is beyond my ability to do better.
As he answers this prayer, my will and his will merge. His heart, his love, and his compassion become mine, and then I just do what comes naturally. That always involves the lost. And when we see the harvest it brings, we have life more abundantly. But before we do, we must become.
"Abide in me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing."
John 15:4-5
When I possess God’s love and compassion for the lost, it takes me to an entirely new level, but how do I get there? Do I ask, seek, and knock in prayer that God will give me his love for lost souls, or do I discipline myself to pray for the lost and then God answers my prayer by giving me his heart and his love for lost souls? Perhaps both.
When I have the love of God in my heart, then motivation is no longer an issue; but I must realize this is not something I can generate on my own. It is a gift of God that becomes mine as I seek him for what I need to accomplish what I must do. Those who have God’s love in their hearts cannot help but think about lost souls. They cannot sleep at night sometimes. They weep for the lost and get emotional. They plead with God constantly to do what they cannot. This is an act of my will to do the work, but also a prayer to equip me.
I become the hands of Jesus as I pray for lost souls around me and ask God to make me into the image of Jesus. I am asking God’s Spirit to change me. As I do, his heart, his character, and his priorities become mine. This is not a decision I make to do better; it is a prayer I pray because it is beyond my ability to do better.
As he answers this prayer, my will and his will merge. His heart, his love, and his compassion become mine, and then I just do what comes naturally. That always involves the lost. And when we see the harvest it brings, we have life more abundantly. But before we do, we must become.
"Abide in me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing."
John 15:4-5