Mar 04

The inability of an unrepentant world to understand what God says to it is a constant in the Bible. When Jesus was finished speaking to the religious leaders of his day, in the incident recorded in John 10, what was the result? How did they react? Did they say, "Oh, this is clearly a message to us from God? Hardly.

"At these words the Jews were again divided. Many of them said, 'He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?'" (John 10:19, 20).

The world so misunderstands when God speaks to it that it even accuses the Word of God as being that of the devil. The world is so blind spiritually that it calls evil good and good evil. Because they make black white and white black, God has yet another word for them:

"Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness . . . to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight . . . for they have rejected the law of the Lord Almighty and spurned the word of the Holy One of Israel" (Isaiah 5:20, 21, 24).

In the world today, nothing has changed from the way it was long ago, at the time of either Jesus or Isaiah. The Word of God today is still railed against, even said by some to be the words of Satan and not God.

How, then, are we to fulfill our commission to go out into the world and spread the good news as proclaimed in the Word of God? The answer lies not in words but in the deeds that accompany it. We are to love not only in word but in deed.

Scripture for today: John 10:19, 20
Thought for today: We are to witness to a lost world, using words if necessary.
Prayer for today: Lord, help me to witness to a lost world, both in words and deeds of love.

MAR 04