Young boys trudging up hills to their village, with their backs lugging a huge sack. Faces tired from laboring all day under the scorching heat of the sun or the pelting rains from dark clouds above. Eyes tell you that they once had dreams, but were shattered by reality and now were living with no purpose and hope for the future, but only that they may have enough strength to go through another day. “What if I was born into a family in one of these villages, and never had the chance to hear the Good News?” Then I reflected on the unmerited favor of the Lord upon me. I treasure the gift of being born into a family in Singapore and the many comforts I had while growing up. More than that, I am grateful that I can get to know Christ and to be known as a child of God, to be given a hope and a future.
It is a great thing to be a Christian. The very name is a noble one, beyond all the noble names of earth. The thing itself is inconceivably blessed and glorious. To say, “I am a Christian’, is to say, ‘I belong to God’s nobility; I am of the peerage of heaven” (Horatius Bonar). It is the honored name of Christ we are bearing when we become Christians. We were knowingly chosen by Him, it was not by chance or accident that we were called into this saving grace. Let us then be worthy representatives of Him through the life we lead. God showered His love towards us through the many gifts and blessings in our lives; we must also then in gratitude be good stewards of everything He has entrusted to us. As Christians, there are many things that we have been given and entrusted with, which we should be good stewards of. One of which is the Gospel of Christ.
The Gospel of Christ is the only way for the lost, the very truth for the deceived and the essence of life for the spiritually dead. How then can we be good stewards of this Gospel? Is it by treasuring this good news and burying it in the depths of our thoughts and actions, so no one can recognize that we are in possession of it, lest they ask of it from us? Is it by keeping it with us and only sharing it with people we deem worthy to receive this gift? I say NO to all the above. Will a seed give life if kept neatly in a box or in our pockets for safe keeping? Or isn’t the purpose of a seed to be thrown into the dirt and soil so it will produce life? So it is with the Gospel of Christ. As good stewards of the Gospel we should always be ready and willing to share the love of Christ wherever and to whomever He leads us. It is my prayer that you will be willing stewards of the Gospel by availing yourselves for the work of God so that all peoples of the earth may know His name.
Brother Samuel Lim
