Pioneers for Christ
I begin with 2 questions, who do you think of when you think of a pioneer? And what actually is a pioneer? A dictionary definition states that a pioneer is, ‘a person who sees potential, pushes the boundaries and usually by overcoming great challenges.’ Maybe you would think of some current world pioneers like Elon musk or Jeff Bezos that made huge technological advances or maybe you think of some spiritual pioneers such as Paul the apostle or Eric Liddell who made huge advances for Christ. The definition alone of what a pioneer looks like should motivate us as Christians to be pioneers for Christ in our everyday lives.
Firstly, we are called to see the potential in those around us, as people that God loves and that Jesus died for, for the redemption of their sins. Once we see the potential of those around us we begin to care for their spiritual situation and show a genuine, God like love which will help us to be more effective at evangelising to our friends and family members. We must foster a conviction to those around us and hold them both in our hearts, in our minds and in our prayers.
Secondly, we need to push the boundaries, but how do we do that? In most cases this means to push our own boundaries and to be more open about the good news of the gospel, by telling our friends and family without the fear of judgement. We can find reassurance in Isaiah 41:10 which says, “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (NKJV)
Lastly an important thing to remember is if we are pursuing being pioneers for Christ great challenges and difficulties are to be expected. We shouldn’t be demoralised by setbacks or when trials come are way as we can be assured by 1 Corinthians 10:13 that God will not give us more that we can handle.
The examples we looked at previously of pioneers were experts in their field, like them we are also experts in our own fields because of the people we know and the places we go. We need to take advantage of the mission fields we are placed in using the relationships and connections to progress the expansion of Gods kingdom. So, my challenge to you and to myself- are we making use of the situations we are in to be pioneers for Christ?