It’s always encouraging to reflect on one’s personal and collective purpose. God who created everything, rested from his works, and in doing so reflected on all that He had made. In His own estimation, “It was very good.”
Likewise, as faithful stewards of God’s will and work, we too can find pause and take time to reflect on His good work among, in and through us. After all, we are the Lord’s fellow workers! Yesterday, we uploaded our 900th gospel video! There’s no time, however, to dwell long on past exploits. There’s work to do.
It is always encouraging to see growth, not only in our own lives, but also throughout our shared faith community. And to that end, our prayers are being answered in ways that are often surprising, for we long to see more people come to faith in Jesus Christ.
What gives us perhaps the greatest joy is when the seeds of the gospel gives way to growth. Often, it takes watering the Word with the sun’s warmth and gentle rains, and in ways only known to God, that little seed of truth somehow germinates. For others, it takes a wild fire to scorch the seed that lies buried under a blanket of leaves. Then, when the landscape appears blackened and lifeless, the first seedlings to appear are often those hardy “Banksias” that no amount of water or sunshine could raise!
That’s the miracle and mystery of surprise. The fruits of our labour in witness, evangelism and edification will be borne, either in our time, or on the harvest of yet another generation.
Our goal is simply to share the good news in every way we can. Everything we say and do must be in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. The greatest joy of our labour, of course, lies yet future, when it will be Jesus who will call those who sleep in their graves to rise and live forever “Where I AM”.
One of the anomalies that we can wrestle with is the tone and nature of our reasoned testimony. Twenty six years ago our on-camera message was in the genre of speaking “hope and encouragement”. I suppose it was a young preacher’s license to testify. In more recent times, when a gospel message or sermon has been stronger in tone, perhaps intentionally and recognisably poignant, greater and more positive has been the response! Perhaps this stems from a people tired of being lied to by society’s narrative; or, that believers actually see through an all too common “sugar-coated” message?
Do we intuitively know the truth when we hear it? Speculation aside, for today, it is the power, presence and compelling persuasion of the Holy Spirit that convicts, clarifies, comforts and confronts the human heart more than anything or anyone else can! To that end we pray, trust and labour.
