Matthew 10:14 “If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet.”

I’m not sure that I’ve ever heard this verse preached on! This too is respecting human free will. We are responsible to share the good news of God’s grace, love, and mercy, but if people won’t receive it, it’s on their heads. Frankly, that’s not a very comfortable truth. However, this teaching is what enabled Paul, and others, to spread the Gospel so quickly, as recorded in Acts. This was under the specific circumstances of an itinerant ministry, but not everyone is called to that. We do need to ask the Lord for the right techniques to share the Gospel in whatever situation He places us, but we should remember that we can’t force anyone to accept it. Doing it by force is how Islam was spread, and that’s certainly not an example to follow! The thing is, we might not be able to get through to someone, but another person who does receive the Gospel might be the perfect messenger to win over that first person we couldn’t reach effectively. We must never forget that it’s not our message, it’s God’s, and we have the privilege of sharing it. Those who receive it are blessed with eternal life, but that is between them and God. We are to rejoice indeed when it happens, but not “take scalps,” so to speak. What God asks of us is faithfulness.

Of course, as a missionary in Japan, this applies very strongly to me. I haven’t been given an itinerant ministry, but rather have been planted in one place for now going on 45 years. I have had people receive the Gospel with joy, a very few react with hostility, and the vast majority with polite indifference. There’s a reason Japan is known as a graveyard of missionaries! My parents ministered faithfully for many years, and are buried here. Though they didn’t see the numbers they desired, they did bear lasting fruit, and I am honored to follow in their footsteps. To me, the most heartbreaking thing is when someone seems to delight in Christ for a while, and then seems to fade away. However, Paul encountered that, and Jesus spoke to it directly in the parable of the seed and the soil. (Matthew 13:3-23) I need to apply myself not only to planting, but also to preparing the soil and dealing with weeds, so that the seed will have the best opportunity for fruitfulness.

Father, thank You for this reminder. I have had many people leave this church, some to go and minister elsewhere, and some, seemingly to leave the faith. I cannot evaluate them accurately, but I entrust them to You. May I present Your words as accurately as possible, in Your love, and allow Your Spirit to work them into the hearts and lives of my hearers, for their blessing and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!