We have to do what it takes to get to Jesus!
The book of Jude is not one that we hear much about. In fact, it is literally comprised of one chapter, yet its message is as important as the rest of God’s Word. Jude verses 22-23 states, “Be merciful to those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear, hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.” This scripture is giving us a verbal roadmap of how to handle folks with different personalities in different situations.
I bet just about all of us at one time or another have heard the cheesy car commercials about bringing in your car as a trade. They say things like, “Even if your car is no longer running just bring it in..just push,pull or drag it, but get it here!”
If you think about it, this phrase that pertains to cars can easily be used about people and how they may need to get to Jesus. There are some people that you can just drop an invitation or a bit of encouragement about coming to church or about turning to God and they are in. They are already aware of the fact that they need help or a change and they just need that friendly nudge to get them going the right direction. Others, however are not so inclined to admit their need for a Savior or that their life is going in the wrong direction, but will still be persuaded with enough convincing. Then there will always be those that have to hit rock bottom, but still have to be practically drug to the Lord.
Obviously we aren’t talking about trading cars anymore are we? No, in fact the trade we are now referring to is the ULTIMATE trade, death for life. This is why God wants us to push, pull or drag (metaphorically) others to Church and to Him. Because of the completed and perfect work of the cross, Jesus takes our rotten and sinful hearts and replaces it with a clean and fully forgiven heart. What a trade!!!
Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” I can’t think of a better trade in all the world because we get to trade our one way ticket to death, destruction and an eternity in hell, for a one way ticket to forgiveness, security, peace and an eternity with Jesus in Heaven.
It’s not always easy to reach out to others for a myriad of reasons. Let’s face it, it’s time and energy consuming to come alongside a hurting person. Many times they treat people poorly because of the pain they are in. It’s a labor of love to put your pride on the line and to risk rejection to push,pull or drag our friends and family to the source of life that they need. However, most of us were brought into the Kingdom by our parents “dragging” us to church or a friend inviting us. How can we feel that all is well because our eternal future is secure? The Great Commission that we can find in Matthew 28:18-20 states, “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” I think the part we can easily forget is that it doesn’t say, “If you feel up to it” it says, “THEREFORE, GO” We need to pray that we are moved with the very same compassion that Jesus was!
Think about this today. If you and your friends and family were imprisoned and on death row yet you were pardoned, would you not wish the same for those left behind? If you knew that all they each had to do was to go to the warden, confess wrongdoing and ask for forgiveness and they could also be pardoned, would you not tell them this? Would you not be willing to help in anyway as an advocate? How much more should we want to see our friends, family and sphere of influence come to Jesus and therefore change the trajectory of their lives from hell to Heaven? Let us all keep our eyes, ears and hearts open today for what God needs us to do. It’s not always comfortable for us, but the eternal reward is so worth it. We should be on the lookout for who we might need to “push,pull or drag” to Jesus.