The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. (KJV)

We are commanded to preach the gospel to the poor in spirit (the unsaved) and to leave the judging of people to God. This point should be clear to believers, but as you probably have witnessed personally, it isn’t always followed.

In Luke 9, when certain disciples were sent ahead to a village of Samaria to prepare for his arrival, the Samaritans chose not to receive Him. Indignant, James and John asked Jesus if He wanted them to “…command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?”

Jesus’ response was swift and sure, rebuking his disciples for not understanding in what Spirit He had come in — to save men’s lives, not destroy them. Instead of judging the Samaritan village, they went on to another one.

Life is like that — you can witness to someone impassionately and your message is summarily rejected. Feeling slighted, our response can come in one of two ways — we could condemn (burn) them for their unbelief or thank (bless) them for their time and move on.

In your personal account, although a blessing was waiting for this person, he chose to reject it (at least for the moment), telling you that it is time to move on and go where your message might be received.

I don’t know if the Samaritan villagers who rejected Jesus and His disciples later heard the gospel and repented, but if they did they were able to do so because God withheld His judgment. In any event, God is concerned with saving men’s lives not destroying them and we should be too.

Clearly, there is a time when every person who has ever walked the earth will have to give an account for his life. At that point judgment will be meted out, but not before. God has given His followers the power to bless people in His name, but we’re often eager to have them burned instead.

Take care that your zeal for the Word is built on the right application of that Word.

Photo courtesy of Abel Leemans.

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