Have you ever heard a song that just blew your mind? I mean, the beat is SICK and the words are on fire and the whole thing is just awesome? When you stumble upon a gem like that, one of the first things you want to do is share it with someone, right?
Let me relate that concept to another situation we have all found ourselves in. Whether it’s hanging out with a group of friends, making small talk with the stranger ahead of us in line, or chatting with a co-worker on our lunch break. At some point the conversation turns and the Holy Spirit begins working inside of us. We’ve all felt that inner conviction building up in our hearts and pulling on our lips. We’ve all heard the instructions of the Spirit to speak up, to share the Truth that we have been given. And, we’ve all made a choice to either obey it or ignore it.
What if I told you that the second choice is a choice of life or death? What if I told you that ignoring the command of the Spirit to speak God’s Truth into someone’s life is essentially denying that person of the eternal hope and life they are meant to have in Christ? That by ignoring the Spirit we are basically ignoring their cries for salvation from the fiery depths of eternal damnation.
Yikes. I know what you are thinking – sounds pretty harsh…maybe even a little extreme, doesn’t it? Not according to the life God called us to in His Word. The book of Jude is a short, one-chapter book written by Jude (not kidding) with passion and urgency to the Christians in his community. He wanted to communicate the weight of spiritual warfare and as Christians we are called to stand firm in the faith and to fight against the powers of darkness by speaking Truth. This means obeying the Holy Spirit to speak up even when you might feel uncomfortable, embarrassed, ill equipped, or uninterested.
Jude 1:23 gives us the big-idea and serves as a great reminder for us to “be merciful to those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.” Wow! Jude surely isn’t messing around or worried about being embarrassed or unqualified. His focus, and our focus should be to share the Good News to others that they might join us in the everlasting and perfect hope of salvation through Jesus Christ. Just like that totally mind-blowing song, how could we keep that gift from others? Unlike a song that might bring joy to someone’s life for a few minutes, Truth will bring salvation and a everlasting life.
I hope you will join me as I challenge myself to obey the Holy Spirit and share Christ’s Truth and gift of salvation in a merciful way.
