DAILY ENCOURAGEMENT - MONDAY: The Wisdom of Soul Winning

The salvation of a single soul is more important than the production or preservation of all the epics and tragedies in the world. -- C. S. Lewis
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The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise. -- Prov 11:30

Christians are the most blessed and privileged people on earth, blessed to be reconciled to God through Christ, privileged to be able to bring others into that same relationship.

Many of us are also amongst the wisest people on earth too, although this may not always be obvious, particularly to our unsaved colleagues and peers, for it is true that we are frequently lacking in some areas of wisdom...

Jesus said… "The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light." -- Luke 16:8

He was emphasizing the obvious fact that many people in the world are a great deal wiser in some things than are many Christians. However, their greater wisdom has a serious flaw. It is wisdom limited to this life, i.e. they are wiser, in their generation, than are many children of light.

We Christians may not always be as astute as we ought to be, but we will ultimately be proven to be wiser than our unconverted peers, for eternity will declare that our wisdom was not limited to time or to this present life. It will be seen to be a wisdom, which took account of eternity. It will be obvious that we have made some quality decisions, which impacted favourably on our eternal future.

The first and greatest of these decisions was to surrender to the Lordship of Christ… and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. -- 2 Tim 3:15.

The second great decision we may made, is to become an ambassador for Christ and determine to faithfully represent Him wherever we may be, to whomever we may meet. This involves our Christian character and life-style as we faithfully live out the principles of our commitment.

It also involves speaking about Christ, confessing our allegiance to Him, and giving witness about Him to others. Telling them why Christ came into the world and what He has accomplished on their behalf. In this manner we become His witnesses. We are numbered amongst those who make Christ known to people, and endeavour with God's help, to bring them to a saving knowledge of Him.

All who make this decision and follow it through with determination are among those of whom the Bible says, "...He that wins souls is wise." Prov -- 11:30a.

Witnessing to others and bringing them to knowledge of God's saving grace is one of the greatest thrills that this life can afford. Seeing people's lives changed and transformed is both exciting and rewarding beyond description. It is a calling and a ministry, which is open to every believer. None need be denied the joyous privilege.

Lord Kenneth Clark, internationally know for his television series Civilization, lived and died without faith in Jesus Christ. He admitted in his autobiography that while visiting a beautiful church he had what he believed to be an overwhelming religious experience. "My whole being," Clark wrote, "was irradiated by a kind of heavenly joy far more intense than anything I had known before."

But the "gloom of grace," as he described it, created a problem. If he allowed himself to be influenced by it, he knew he would have to change, his family might think he had lost his mind, and maybe that intense joy would prove to be an illusion. So he concluded, "I was too deeply embedded in the world to change course." -- Our Daily Bread, February 15, 1994.

I feel so sad when I read these accounts of the unsaved; it distresses me, but it only serves to make me desire to win more souls for Christ.

It is now more than 25 years since I became Born Again in Christ. It was immediately after this that I began to tell others of my own experience and I can still vividly remember the excitement and thrill of seeing many people accept Jesus as Saviour and Lord. How rewarding it was to see them begin to grow in their newfound faith.

How fulfilling it is to see them also begin to bring others to Christ and to witness the impact of the Gospel touching and changing lives. After all these years the thrill remains. it is still amongst the greatest experiences one can have. To see lives impacted and transformed through God's Grace, and to witness the ongoing triumph of the greatest story ever told.

Let us this week, consider together, the wisdom of Soul Winning.

Loving Father, I desire so much to be a soul winner for you, help me by the power of the Holy Spirit, to put these principles into action that I may see souls brought into your Kingdom. In Jesus wonderful name! Amen!