May 29

Many of the scribes and Pharisees came confessing their sins, and asking for baptism. They had exalted themselves as better than other men, and had led the people to entertain a high opinion of their piety; now the guilty secrets of their lives were unveiled. But John was impressed by the Holy Spirit that many of these men had no real conviction of sin. They were timeservers. As friends of the prophet, they hoped to find favour with the coming Prince. And by receiving baptism at the hands of this popular young teacher, they thought to strengthen their influence with the people.

          Desire of Ages, page 106 from the chapter, 'The voice in the wilderness'

    There is a very basic message here – not everyone will listen to you. You will not have wasted your time or your energy and you may well have learned useful lessons.

     That said, some of those who hear the message may well be those who have no real conviction of sin, and some may well be time-servers or worse, people who may well cause problems for God’s cause on this earth.

     There are two approaches to take. The first is simply to include everyone and wait for the harvest at the end of time. Didn’t Jesus suggest that the wheat and the tares be allowed to grow together?

     The second approach is one to take care with. First you identify if there are people who do not have God’s work at heart – there are some hints in the short letter, 2 John. There is a second element of what to do, to call attention to the problem. You can read about that in the even shorter letter, 3 John.

     We should not witness expecting problems, we are still called to help people realise their separation from God, and to take the risk that a very few who listen may not listen with love and wisdom.

     Bryn is back to choosing songs, now that my computer has decided to keep his emails! The song he has chosen is ‘Tears On The Master’s feet’, by Heaven's Mountain Band. Please click on the picture to listen to the song.