As you struggle, persevere, and endure to serve the Lord every day. Continue to show brotherly love to those around you, your brothers and sisters in Christ, and those who persecute you. Show hospitality and care to all of them so that those in Christ may be encouraged and lifted so that your enemies may see the goodness and mercy of God and repent from their wickedness.
Above all, keep loving one another earnestly since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God’s varied grace: 1 Peter 4:8-10
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” Matthew 5:43-45
You, too, may be in pain and need of help. You, too, long for someone to reach out to you to help, encourage, and lift you up. Many of those who are lost and without Christ wear a mask of concealment to hide their brokenness. They wear costumes, pretending to be strong, stable, and in control.
But the truth is that under that mask and costume, they are lost, scared, broken, and weary souls seeking truth, love, and forgiveness. The only place anyone will find that is through Jesus Christ.
But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace, you have been saved— and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:4-6
Often, the one who appears to be the most offended and distressed by the message of Jesus Christ is the one who is screaming on the inside for help and just waiting for the hard shell of their exterior to crack and fall away.
You could be the one God has called to return good from evil, kindness from anger, compassion from slander, or love from hatred. Who knows what the Lord has planned? Their rugged, gruff exterior may be ready to crumble when you pour out the love and compassion of the Lord. Amazing things can happen when you give them the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
For while we were still weak, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person, one would dare even to die— but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:6-8
God has placed you on this earth for a great reason. He has you right where He wants you. He has created you as His finely tuned instrument to spread His message of love and salvation, all for the glory of God and to save the lost.
You are to be His hands, feet, and mouthpiece to seek to save the lost. You never know who the Lord has been working on. You never know who He will place before you as a divine appointment. Through one act of kindness, they may be ready to hear, understand, and receive the message of salvation.
What an incredible and marvelous task He has placed upon you. To know that you can be instrumental in saving a soul from hell and bringing a sin-hardened lawbreaker to the cross in repentance. I pray that they may be saved and become children of God, step out in faith and boldness to spread the good news of Jesus Christ, and take action. May the Lord remove the mask they wear and the pain they bear.
But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. And have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh. Jude 1:20-23
For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for His name in serving the saints, as you still do. And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end so that you may not be sluggish but imitators of those who, through faith and patience, inherit the promises. Hebrews 6:10-12
The Soul Sower 