Hebrews 8:10-11 This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord.
I will put my laws in their minds
and write them on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
No longer will a man teach his neighbor,
or a man his brother, saying, `Know the Lord,’
because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest.

This prophecy from Jeremiah 31 is indeed magnificent, but it is helpful to consider what the implications are for right now, before we see its complete fulfillment. Every believer rejoices at the prospect of God writing His law in people’s minds and hearts, but it doesn’t take much observation to know that hasn’t happened yet for the majority of people. Understanding that, we can grasp that verse 11 is talking about what should be happening now, with every man who knows God teaching his family and neighbors about God. That won’t be necessary when everyone knows God, but until that comes about, every believer is to be teaching those around them. That will take different forms in different situations, but every believer is to be doing it all the time, in one way or another. So many believers think they can’t do that, that they have nothing to teach and they wouldn’t be heard if they tried, but that’s a lie of the devil. Everyone who has discovered a personal relationship with God who loves them is miles ahead of anyone who hasn’t made that discovery. Running around lecturing is hardly the most effective way to communicate the Gospel, but everyone can express the love of God through their attitudes and actions, and when that happens, opportunities will open up to express that love through words as well.

As someone with Teacher gifting, I tend rather strongly toward lecturing, and that’s obviously not very efficient. I’ve got to remember that people have to be loved into the kingdom, and not just ordered to enter. That’s why mass meetings are generally very inefficient in generating converts. They have benefit in getting some people to step into a church building for the first time, and they pull some people into commitment who have been wavering, but such conversions are the exception rather than the rule. We are having a special meeting this Saturday, and we have the prospect of many people entering the building for the first time. Some of those may have been prepared by the Lord for commitment at just this time. Some may be “closet Christians,” who will use this opportunity to reconnect to the Body of Christ. However, for all of them, the most important thing will be the love of God expressed through this congregation. We need to be prepared to get contact information and then follow through with it, contacting each person who comes, inviting them to come back, and otherwise making them feel loved. I’m not really good at that! However, by the grace and love of God, He can do it through me, and I need to make myself fully available to Him for that purpose.

Father, thank You for the seminar on evangelism that one of our members could attend yesterday. Thank You for the things he heard there. I pray that every member of this church would take hold of the privilege and responsibility of being Christ’s witness so that, led by Your Spirit, we may be effective workers in Your harvest, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!