When we see the people we love making bad decisions, our heart aches to help lead them to Jesus and away from the destruction that comes from following the world's path. When we know the way to peace and joy, we yearn to show it to them. Sharing the truth from a place of love is how we come to fullness in Christ. However, we run into difficulties when we take on too much responsibility for others instead of giving them to Jesus.
Ephesians 4:15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. (NIV)
Whether we are helping lead someone to salvation, or just helping our fellow believers to grow more in their faith, we can get very invested in the process. Oftentimes the people we are ministering to are those whom we care very much about. This makes it extremely difficult to sit still and watch them figure things out on their own. Nevertheless, there comes a time when that is all we can do.
Jesus puts compassion in our hearts so that we will reach out to people and help lead them to the truth. We speak life into them and show them what Jesus says about their circumstance. When we have said and done all that the Spirit has led us to, it is time to step back and let them work it out with Jesus. Breaking through strongholds in life is a process. Rarely is someone free of whatever they are struggling with after one conversation. We have to put into practice an entirely different way of living and even though it is the right way, old habits die hard and the temptation is still there. Jesus has to reach into their minds and realign their thinking, which can be hard to reconcile at first.
When ministering to your brothers and sisters, be in tune with the Holy Spirit. Pray for them and speak only the words He puts into your mouth. Hold back from becoming overzealous and getting too involved. Make yourself available if they need you, but otherwise it is best to simply pray for your them and step back and let Jesus work on them personally in His timing. When we over invest ourselves we take on the responsibility and pressure to be a savior to whoever you're ministering to. We are a flawed people and incapable of being anyone's savior. That is why we have our Jesus. If you really love your brothers and sisters, let them work out their own salvation as we are all called to. They are in good hands!
Philippians 2:12 So then, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now even more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. (HCSB)
2 Peter 3:14-16 And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in his sight.
And remember, our Lord’s patience gives people time to be saved. This is what our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you with the wisdom God gave him—speaking of these things in all of his letters. Some of his comments are hard to understand, and those who are ignorant and unstable have twisted his letters to mean something quite different, just as they do with other parts of Scripture. And this will result in their destruction. (NLT)
2 Peter 3:14-16 And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in his sight.
And remember, our Lord’s patience gives people time to be saved. This is what our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you with the wisdom God gave him—speaking of these things in all of his letters. Some of his comments are hard to understand, and those who are ignorant and unstable have twisted his letters to mean something quite different, just as they do with other parts of Scripture. And this will result in their destruction. (NLT)
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