God Will Send You to Someone You Don’t Like
"Philip went to the city of Samaria and told the people there about the Messiah. 6 Crowds listened intently to Philip because they were eager to hear his message and see the miraculous signs he did. 7 Many evil spirits were cast out, screaming as they left their victims. And many who had been paralyzed or lame were healed. 8 So there was great joy in that city." Acts 8:5-8
Pastor's Blog
So, who is it you don’t like? What does God want you to do about that? Am I supposed to suddenly become best friends with him or her?
Acts 1:8 records Jesus telling his followers to reach out to Jerusalem, Judea and also Samaria. The first two were “family”. Samaria wasn’t. Samaria and Judea got along kind of like India and Pakistan. Samaria was an enemy.
Who don’t you get along with? Did you know that Jesus wants you to be a witness to the salvation of God through Jesus Christ to people in your sphere of Influence whom you don’t like?
What are you going to do about that?
One thing you can do is to recognize that that other person is in a position to be influenced by you whether you like it or not. And to recognize that isn’t an accident. And to conclude therefore that you are given spiritual responsibility for that person you don’t like. God has entrusted you with the gospel and for you not be a good steward of that trust in the life of that other person is a sin. Christians are not permitted to look at others and say “he or she is not my problem”. God has not granted us that relief.
Philip went to Samaria. But Samaria was on his God Given itinerary. Who’s on your God given itinerary?
There was several in my work place that I came to dislike being in their company. Course joking, harsh criticism as a joke, and other activities they engaged in and out of work caused me to keep my distance so to not get caught up in their behavior. Truly I desired that they saw me as not "better than thou", however I would believe their choices left me in that catagory. No doubt I tried to be pleasant towards them and allow God to break through. Perhaps in my absence from that workplace will be a better opportunity for God to bring another who can help them see what God desires in a relationship with Him. It bothers me that I seemed to not break through. I can only believe one day they will "get it" and realize why I chose to stand alone instead joining in their group. It seemed to "befriend" these coworkers would cause me to compromise my walk in Christ. It is in God's hands as to how best to reach such people. Maybe I just wasn't the one which could break through. Or perhaps God will use something about me in my absence. I can only be me in my relationship. I depend on God to open eyes, to include mine. In the end they also have to choose what to believe and how to live. That choice is between them and God. I can only hope I managed to let God be seen.
ReplyDelete