The Clarion Call

The clarion call goes out from God. The call and message of love, peace, redemption, reconciliation and salvation. It is a call that has gone out to the entire world for thousands of years. But few will hear it and receive it. Why?

“They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.” (1 John 4:5-6).

It can be frustrating sometimes as a Christian when no one seems to “get it”. You speak of Christ and His perfect plan of Salvation to folks and no one seems to care. Noah preached for over a 100 years and saved no one except his immediate family. But it all starts to make sense once we realize that there are two kinds of people; children of God and children of this world. To the children of this world the, “preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:18). And that is what is going to happen to the children of this world, they are going to perish without Jesus Christ.

What are the children of God to do? Jesus gave us the great commission to go and preach!

“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” (Matthew 28:19-20).

Notice nowhere in the great commission does Jesus lay the burden of converting a person on anyone’s shoulders. We are only to spread the word. It is the Holy Spirit working on a person’s spirit that motivates and quickens a soul to God, not us.

Spread the word! Some of it will find hard ground and not take root. Sometimes the devil will steal away the word from someone. Sometimes the word will find shallow ground and will take root and sprout but soon die. But sometimes the word finds fertile soil in which to plant, sprout and grow into a mighty and fruitful tree.

Keeping with the seed metaphor, the germination time period is different for each person. Of those who receive the word, some sprout quickly others may take years. But we are to treat both the same feeding them the word on a daily basis until they do sprout and grow.

“He that is not of God heareth not us.” I wish it were different but it is a fact of life. But praise the Lord for, “he that knoweth God heareth us!”

Bill Hitchcock