John 17:18 – “As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.”
John 17:25-26 – “O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”
When a fire breaks out, the fire chief gathers the crew to go battle the blaze. When someone is lost on a hike, a search party is formed to venture out to find them. And, when a child wanders off, the entire neighborhood stops what they are doing to locate the little one.
Jesus says that this world is not our home and that people are lost and in danger. Jesus prayed that Christians would understand that in this world, we are the rescue crew. Just as Jesus was sent into this world on a rescue mission, so too He sends His people on the same mission into the same world.
Sometimes, when a person becomes a Christian and begins to understand how wonderfully wonderful the Kingdom of Heaven will be, they wonder why they are stuck here in the broken, fallen, and frustrating world. The reason we are still here is because there are people who need to be saved from this world. While we don’t save souls, only God does that, we do preach the gospel of salvation. God has chosen to work through His people so that we are Jesus’ rescue crew. We get to be part of God’s great rescue plan for the earth, and spend eternity with the people who met Jesus through our ministry service. This includes our own children and grandchildren, family, friends, strangers, neighbors, coworkers, and even enemies.
Who did God send to bring the good news of Jesus to you? That person got to be part of Jesus’ rescue crew and you had the joy of being rescued. Now, God wants you to have your eyes open to the people He puts in front of you so that you can pray for them, love them, serve them, and speak to them about the Jesus who came to seek and save the lost.
Who is in your life that you should be pursuing so that they can hopefully meet Jesus as Savior and Lord?