THE DRAGNET
Matthew 13:47-50
“ ‘Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, which, when it was full, they drew to shore and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away. So it will be a the end of the age. The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from the just, and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.’ ”
There is an approach to witnessing that believes it is a waste of time to tell the Gospel to those who are not interested in hearing, who do not give evidence that the Holy Spirit opened their hearts and has drawn them to faith. This approach says, "I won't talk the them about Jesus because they won't believe anyway." Jesus gives a different model of evangelism. In the Parable of the Sower, the seed was sown indiscriminately on both good and bad soil. In this parable the fishing net was cast into the sea and gathered both the just and the unjust. To use another metaphor, I think the shotgun approach is valid. There is a place and time for the rifle approach, but it is not my responsibility to determine who will believe and who will reject. My job is to cast the net and leave the rest to God.
TODAY’S PRINCIPLE: Everyone should hear the good news that Jesus died for their sin, not just “seekers.”
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Have a sharing day. Love you.
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