Responsibility

I saw a quote that read, “It is not only for what we do that we are held responsible, but also for what we do not do.” The Bible echoes that statement in various ways and is filled with positive and negative examples of people and the responsibilities God gave them to do something great.

After Jesus' resurrection, He met with His apostles and told them, “...you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:49), which is exactly what they did. They waited to “receive power whenever the Holy Spirit came” (Acts 1:8). What the Spirit would bring would be power, wisdom, and every tool necessary to spread the good news of salvation to all people. However, when you think about the responsibility God was placing on their shoulders, it could make some people squirm.

In fact, historically when God called people to take on big responsibilities they often squirmed. Moses was called in Exodus 3 to go deliver a message of salvation to God’s people enslaved in Egypt, but he used every excuse he could think of to get out of it. Later, some spies were given the responsibility of reporting on the Promised Land, but 10 out of 12 of them caved in to fear and rebelled. Then, several times, kings were given the responsibility of leading their nation to war against evil and they negotiated with them instead, or flat out refused to fight, or even became just like them.

Prophet after prophet was given an awful responsibility of proclaiming judgment against God’s people, but they were faithful. They did what needed to be done regardless of how difficult it was to carry it out, trusting on God’s power to help them.

Some argue that the great commission was given to the apostles only, however, the more you study the more it appears that each of us are given the responsibility of sharing the hope of eternal life with people all around us.

We’ve been invited to a great wedding feast where we (the church) are the special bride. The invitations have been passed out ready to mail, we are given the responsibility for getting them to the mailboxes of people everywhere.

John D. Rockefeller once said, “Every RIGHT implies a responsibility; every OPPORTUNITY, an obligation; every POSSESSION, a duty.”

Let’s be sure to be part of the legacy of positive examples of faithful promoters of God’s invitation to the lost of this world.

God bless you!