I'd Go to H#$@! For You - Romans 9:1-3 I tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit, that I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh… Rom 9:1-3
II don't know about you, but I can't fathom ever making a statement like Paul makes here, that he would be willing to be eternally damned if it would result in the salvation of his countrymen, the Jews! That's what you call true commitment! The great English preacher John Bunyan once said "that he often felt while preaching that he could give his own salvation for the salvation of his hearers." After reading that, CH Spurgeon commented, "And I pity the man who has not felt the same." Well, thanks guys, I suddenly feel like a toad!
This passage prompts a question: Are we poor excuses for Christians if we DON'T feel that way? I'm going to do out on a doctrinal limb here, and say no, since we don't see this thought repeated anywhere else in the bible, nor this prayer practiced by the early church.
OK, so we don't need to offer our own salvation for others, but this passage does prompt a second question: What is our heart towards the lost? Do we even care?
Now that is something we can chew on. Perhaps it would be a good exercise for each of us to take stock of our burden for the lost, and ask ourselves: - How much time do I spend praying for people I know who are lost?
- How much time do I spend putting myself in proximity and relationship to people who are lost?
- How much time do I spend making an effort to share my faith with people I know who are lost?
If the answer to these questions is "not much," then what are we willing to do about it? Now I know that you might be thinking, "What about the burden? Shouldn't I have a burden first?" Actually, NO.
I'll let you in on a little secret, I don't always have a burden for the lost either (I know, bad pastor!). But what I've found is that if I will purposefully reach out to people, engage with them, be a blessing, build relationship, God will give me a burden for them. If you pray and ask God for an opportunity to connect with someone for the purpose of sharing your faith, God will answer that prayer - it's His will for you!
So, we needn't walk around in guilt if we don't have the same burden Paul had for his Jewish brethren, but we can do our part by being willing to build connections with the people around us every day, and be Christ to them. We can change the world, one life at a time.
"Lord, give me an opportunity today to connect with someone that doesn't know you, and help me to be Christ to them. Lord if you'll put them in my path, I'll engage."
Pastor Clay | 
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