If I don't do it...

I have had some really great interaction about Sunday's message. One aspect I wanted to comment on further was this thought we get that goes something like this: "If I don't do it, it won't get done." I have seen this thought used as a guilt trip for motivating people to evangelize. "If you don't tell your friend about Jesus, then they will never hear and will go to Hell." Really? Does it really all depend on me? I certainly believe (and please hear me) that God desires to use us, but if I don't join God in witnessing, He is going to use someone to reach that person with the message. In fact, anytime we help someone step across the line of faith, He has already used several people. We have just been one among many influences.

It is about God and what He can do, not about us.

We can see this specifically in 1 Corinthians 2:3-5 and 1 Corinthians 3:5-9.

It was God's power....it's always God's power. He certainly wants us to respond to His call so we accomplish good works, but it is about God's power.

So what does this all mean for us? I think it means this:

We can relax. Yes we want to be responsive to His call, but it doesn't all hang on us. We can do our best to follow God's call and trust that it all ultimately depends on God. The result is that we get to experience the joy and blessing that comes from fulfilling the call of God on our life without worrying that everything depends on us.