“Like the coolness of snow at harvest time is a trustworthy messenger to those who send him; he refreshes the spirit of his masters.” Proverbs 25:13
In the heat of harvest, an early snow refreshes the workers in the same way a loyal trusted messenger is refreshing to the one who sent him.
If we have been reconciled to God through Jesus Christ, then we are God’s representatives, His messengers on earth, given the task of spreading His message to all men.
“God has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us” 2 Corinthians 5:19-20.
The so-called Great Commission, the command of Jesus to go into all the world, includes more than just going.
“Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.’” Matthew 28:18-20
The commission Jesus gave involves making disciples and teaching those disciples to obey everything Jesus commanded.
Herein lies the problem. We often focus on the word GO, and forget that we are to be discipling and teaching. The problem is further compounded by the fact that you cannot teach what you do not know. You cannot be an effective messenger if you don’t know the message.
Would IBM hire you for advertising if you didn’t know their product line?
Would the NFL hire a referee who didn’t know the rulebook?
You can’t be the spokesperson for a political candidate if you don’t know their platform.
Neither can you be God’s spokesperson if you don’t know His message.
If we want God to be God’s trustworthy messenger then we must know His message, contained in His Word.
Can God choose to use anyone, even a brand new believer? Yes He can, and He does. But who did God choose to join the chariot of the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8? It had to be someone who was prepared to give him the answer he was looking for?
This is not to discourage us but to motivate us to be trained and prepared to be a trustworthy messenger.
When I was a new believer at age 21, I was very zealous to share God’s message with others, but now I look back and shake my head at some of the inaccurate things I told people. Yikes!
Proverbs warns us, “It is not good to have zeal without knowledge” Proverbs 19:2.
Through the study and memorization of God’s Word I’m now in the lifelong process of becoming a more useable messenger for God, equipped and ready at any time.
How has memorizing Scripture made you a more trustworthy messenger?
