- C. M. Ward
To protect themselves from hostile Indians, pioneer settlers built stockades around their settlements, each with a high pole. On top of these poles was an iron receptacle filled with flammable material.
When Indians would come, the material was lighted as a signal. One day some of the settlers were surrounded by murderous Indians armed with poisoned arrows.
When a brave youth climbed the pole to light the signal, poisoned arrows pierced his body, and he fell lifeless to the ground. Seeing the lighted fire, the nearby settlers came to the rescue.
On a marker over this youth's grave were these words: "He saved others, Himself he could not save."
This young man understood duty.
"He saved others," they said, "but he can't save himself! He's the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him." (Matt. 27:42 NIV).
Jesus did not want to die, but He understood duty. Duty gets things done no matter how difficult the task may be. There will always be things in life that we do not want to do, but if we have a strong sense of duty - if we are mature - we will face them and trust God to see us through.
It is our duty to share the Gospel with the world. Every now and then, when I'm in a restaurant and God tells me the waiter is not saved, I have to remind myself that witnessing to people is not an option or a suggestion. It is my duty!
The great part about all this is, when I do my duty, obey God, and do what is right, I always stand back afterwards and wonder, "Why was I so uptight about this, anyway? What was the big deal?"
I've come to realize that the "big deal" is that God is growing me up into a mature man! So the next time you have the opportunity to share Jesus Christ, do your duty! Not only are you performing your mission, but you will be growing up in God.
Excerpt permission granted by Albury Publishing