So Send I You

Thought For Today - May 5
So Send I You
By: Robert A. Searles

"Then said Jesus to them again, peace be unto you; as my father hath sent me, even so send I you." John 20: 21.

Jesus gave his disciples the commission to continue his ministry on earth after he was ascended into heaven. He gave them the Holy Spirit to help them. We who are the children of God, have been given the same commission from him. We are told to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. As God sent Jesus to reconcile the world to himself, so Jesus sends us into the world among sinners, to tell them of his love and redeeming power. There is no purpose for living on earth other than for service to God.

 The unsaved person , from the time he is old enough to think for himself ,is constantly searching for something that will fulfill his purpose in life. It  is called the pursuit of happiness. It is the common thought that happiness is something which we can run after, and some day catch it, and when it has been caught, hang onto it and never let it go. No wonder there are so many frustrated people in the world. They go from one thing to another, without ever finding any real satisfaction in life, and no purpose for living. Education won't satisfy, houses and property and wealth won't satisfy, even good health won't satisfy, and the reason being, that we were designed to be satisfied only from within when we have found the perfect will of God and are doing it.

The most miserable people of all are those who have become the sons of God, if they have never yielded themselves to serve God and win souls to Christ. The greatest joy and satisfaction that any of us can ever experience is to know that we are doing the very thing that we were sent to do after we were saved, that is, to magnify and exalt the name of the Lord Jesus Christ; to win souls; and to continue the ministry of love and compassion, reconciliation to God through Christ, and help those in need.

When a person has no purpose in life other than to satisfy his own flesh, then life itself becomes nothing but a continual state of boredom and depression, and can become a living hell. We have been sent by Jesus to do a job, to work in his vineyard, to bring in the harvest. There is much joy in laboring for the Lord. We are told that they "that sow in tears, shall doubtless come again rejoicing, bringing  their sheaves with them.".

I want to be one of the sent ones. I don't want to be just sitting around feeling miserable because I have reached a certain age, and feeling sorry for myself that all my yesterdays could not continue until today,. I pray that the Lord will fill me to overflowing with the Holy Spirit and give me a ministry and service for him that will keep me busy magnifying and exalting his name forever. I want to keep my eyes on the future, not on the past. That which is ahead is greater and more exciting than anything we have ever known in the past. I want to keep pressing forward to the prize of the high calling of God, as Paul said, and to keep my eyes fixed firmly on Jesus. I want to seek first the kingdom of God, and accept with thanksgiving any blessing that God wants to shower upon me.