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Humble Hero
heard, His name the first word they had ever spoken, His face the
first they had ever seen. As He passed through the towns and cities,
He was like a vital current, spreading life and joy.
The followers of Christ are to work as He did. We are to feed the
hungry, comfort the suffering, and inspire hope in the hopeless. The
love of Christ, shown in unselfish ministry, will be more effective in
reforming the evildoer than will the sword or court of justice. Often
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the heart will melt under the love of Christ. Through His servants,
God wants to be a greater Comforter than the world has ever seen.
On their first missionary tour, the disciples were to go only to
“the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” If the Jews would receive the
gospel, God intended to make them His messengers to the Gentiles.
So they were first to hear the message.
On this first tour, the disciples were to go only where Jesus
had been before them and had made friends. Their preparation for
the journey was to be simple. They were not to adopt the dress of
religious teachers nor use certain clothing to distinguish them from
the humble peasants. They were not to call the people together for
public meetings; their efforts were to be in house-to-house work. In
every place, they were to accept the hospitality of those who would
welcome them as if entertaining Christ Himself, entering the home
with the beautiful salutation, “Peace to this house.”
Luke 10:5
. That
home would be blessed by their prayers, their songs of praise, and
their opening of the Scriptures in the family circle. The message
they had brought was the word of eternal life, and the destiny of men
and women depended on whether they received or rejected it. See
Matthew 10:14, 15
.
“Behold,” said Jesus, “I send you out as sheep in the midst of
wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.”
Christ did not suppress one word of truth, but He always spoke it
in love. He was never rude, never gave needless pain to a sensitive
soul. He did not scold human weakness. He fearlessly condemned
hypocrisy and evil, but tears were in His voice as He spoke His
sharpest rebukes. Every person was precious in His eyes.
The servants of Christ need to have close fellowship with God,
or else when others irritate them self may rise up and they release
a torrent of words that are not like the dew or the soft showers that
refresh the withering plants. God’s servants are to fasten their eyes