A Thought For The Week Of October 17, 2016

"Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say." (Exodus 4:12) God finds a way to get our attention. That seems to be the basic message in this story contained in Exodus 4:1-17. And - having got our attention - God doesn't let us off the hook for responding. Moses didn't know how he would possibly convince Pharaoh to let God's people go. But God's response to Moses' concern was basically  - "you just do what I tell you to do and leave the results to me." As I reflect upon that I realize that it's also the real basis for evangelism. The issue in evangelizing isn't whether anyone gets "saved" or comes to faith through what we do. The issue in evangelism is whether we faithfully accept the call God has given us to share good news. The results are up to God. As we routinely say, we can't convert anyone - only the Holy Spirit can do that. But we have to accept our responsibility to share what God asks us to share. That's the other part of the passage. Moses didn't care to do what God wanted him to do. He had excuses - he wasn't a good enough speaker was the big one - but basically I think he was afraid not only of the responsibility of speaking for God but also of the potential consequences of speaking for God. But, again, God wouldn't let Moses off the hook. Whatever excuses Moses came up with, God had an answer for them. Again, to draw the link - we might have any number of excuses for why we don't think we can do what God asks of us. Mostly, though, I suspect it comes down to either just not wanting to do it, or being afraid to do it. Either way, God doesn't let us off the hook. Eventually, God's call to us is irresistible.