Witnessing in the 21st Centry: Our Purpose

Tomorrow I will start a new job. I will finally be able to use my college education to make good money and do something I love! What exactly will I be doing? I will be doing all the code work for the hospital in our town. When a doctor files a patient medical record it is my job to look at that record, find the diagnosis or procedure, and find a code that will match it making things easier for the insurance company to pay the doctors and facilities. That will be my purpose - to find the right codes.

Now imagine if I went on the job, realizing what I was suppose to do, but chose to ignore that and do what I wanted to do. I could clean the office, organize papers, set up appointments, answer the phone, maybe work in the transcribing area . . . anything but what I was hired for. It sounds like a lot of fun and I might like it more than coding! But how do you think my boss would react? I don't think he would like it at all! In fact, I don't think I would be his employee for very long if I continued to do such things.

While this illustration sounds a little bazaar, we do the same thing everyday. Most Christians who have been saved for a long period of time know what our purpose is. It is to serve Christ and point souls to Him. We see this in Matthew 28:19-20. "Go therefore, & teach all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the holy Ghost, Teaching them to observe all things, whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you alway, even till the end of the world, Amen." But do we do our duty? Are we hearers only? (James 1:22 ) How often do we even speak Christ' name to others? These are all questions we need to consider when we examine our life. Sharing God's love with others is something we can all do.

For some this may mean telling their children and other family members about Christ. Others may have great opportunities to witness to strangers on a daily basis while your friend may have to go out deliberately with the sole purpose in mind being to tell someone the good news. Some people may feel more comfortable to hand out tracks and leave them in places where others will find them, but there are some Christians who prefer to talk directly to others about their spiritual condition. However you choose to go about it is okay. The most important thing is that we are following God by telling others about the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. That is our purpose.