You’ve Got Your Orders
Today’s devotional was written by my son, Clark Wrather, who is the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Broken Bow, Oklahoma. The Scripture and title have been added.
I am the only well person in a house full of sick people. Madison, the baby Mason, and Libby have all had some kind of cold during the last couple of days. All of them are sneezing and coughing and just feeling badly. I have done my best to avoid catching whatever they have.
I wash my hands after touching my boys. I have kept my distance from Libby. I pay attention to what my boys touch and try not to touch those things. I do all of these things to miss out on being sick. At least, I did all of these things until last night.
I woke up last night and heard Madison coughing. He coughed and coughed for about twenty minutes and he was getting worse. I went and got him up and out of bed. I carried him into the kitchen and along the way he coughed all over my face and I didn’t even care. I set him down and made him drink water, which he didn’t like at all. I wanted to give him some medicine, but I wasn’t sure what I could give him. I had to go ask Libby.
Usually, Libby would have taken care of this late night emergency, but she was out of commission. I tried to wake her up for a couple of minutes and she finally responded and opened her eyes. I told her that Madison was sick and needed to take some medicine. She looked right at me and seriously replied, “bleh bleh ma re ba bleh, etc….” She continued on like this for quite a while, just babbling away.
Eventually, she became aware of me for a moment and I asked her if I could give Madison anything. She dramatically replied with one word in a hoarse whisper, “Sudafeeeeeedddd.” After she said the word, her eyes closed and back to sleep she went. I gave Madison the medicine and we talked for a while, before I carried him back to bed. Around 2:30 am, he went back to sleep.
Many Christians act kind of like I do. The world and our culture have been overcome by a spiritual sickness. Most believers act like they will catch this disease. They stay away from everyone who is not a Christian. They go to church, they spend time with Christian friends, and they tend to clump together on the job. It is a fortress type of mentality. Jesus’ last command to us was not to lock the door and hide out. I thought it had something to do with going and telling? Tell someone about your Savior. Those sinners will not make you sick. You’re Immune. No one can take your salvation away from you.
Maybe you thought it was the preacher’s job or the deacon’s job or something that only Sunday School teachers did? If you thought that, you’re just plain wrong. It is usually Libby’s job to take care of Madison when he is sick, but last night she could not do it.
Preachers, deacon, and teachers tend to do the lion’s share of witnessing and everything else. But sometimes, they cannot do it. This is why Jesus commanded all Christians to go and tell. Leave your fortress behind, obey Christ and start making a difference in those sick souls you already know about. If you really loved or cared about other people, you would tell them.
(The Great Commission is not a suggestion it is an order, a command. It also does not apply just to preachers, deacons, or teachers. It applies to every child of God, every Christian.)