I recently had to go to Hamilton, Ontario to bring my mother-in-law back home. I like the city of Hamilton because it feels like home to me since I’ve spent many years living there. As I write this however, I now live in a whole different world. Where I used to live in the big city, I now live in farm country. Where in a prior life I loved the convenience and accessibility found in the big city, I now find myself much calmer and refreshed living in the peacefulness of country life…
Here’s the thing though. As I come back to visit the big city I’m struck by how many people can fit in such a small space. Out in the country where I live we see very few people go by. Even if you count the cars that drive by our home, it isn’t unusual to have ten minutes or more go by between cars… I must confess that I like this quietness and solitude. I love the open spaces and the occasional smell of manure… I love hearing the sound of crickets at night and being able to see the sky literally bursting with stars at night in one of God’s truly breathtaking sights in nature…
Having said all this however, I have a problem. God loves the sinner. God doesn’t want a single person to be lost. He wants to see every sinner come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9) God loves the masses of people found in the cities of the world. The problem I have is this… Why haven’t all these people been reached with the gospel? Why aren’t the churches mobilizing more to reach them? What am I doing to reach them?
How will God reach them? Matthew 24:14 tells us, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” God doesn’t need us to do anything… He is quite capable of accomplishing his will without us, without me… The thing is though, if I love God, I’ll do what makes Him happy. What brings Him joy. Certainly one thing that brings God joy is when sinners come to repentance. What would church be like if this was truly our priority?