A lot has changed since I was a young boy. Unfortunately, it seems worse things than good in this society that we live in. The drug use has skyrocketed, the crime overall is immense, and the racist hate has grown into something that seems never-ending and the suicide rates in youth are increasing on a daily basis. So, I ask one question to you, Why? There are many answers to this question and I will touch on a few but I find myself focusing on scripture to help answer this question of why there is so much destruction in this world. Let me start by saying that, the reason why there is a lot of the chaos in this world is not all to be blamed on social media, government, or even celebrities, but sometimes “the church” is the one to blame. Have we believers of Jesus become soft that we are afraid to speak truth because we are afraid that we will be stepping on too many toes? If so, then can you really say that you are fulfilling the purpose of your life that God has for you to the fullest? The clear answer to that is No. If you are afraid to give the gospel, which is truth to someone because you are afraid of stepping on their toes then your feet are in the wrong place. The gospel is meant to step on the toes of people that do not follow Jesus and need the reality check that the only way out of the darkness is through Jesus. We need to stop the excuses and pray without ceasing while also giving the gospel truth with love even if toes get stepped on.
Does this mean that our approach as a Christian has to be intense enough that the person seems to shut us out before we are able to speak truth to them? The clear answer to this is no, but sparking a conversation and hearing both sides to the issue is how we as a society can get through the issues in life but no conversation should ever end without giving the gospel to someone that does not know Jesus because we are afraid of stepping on their toes and getting a rejection in general. We as true believers need to lean on God and his strength when sharing the gospel to others and His guidance will give us the words of wisdom to deliver in a way that does not harm but heals. Let’s look at a passage from Luke chapter 6 that shows how Jesus stepped on toes for a purpose.
One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and his disciples began to pick some heads of grain, rub them in their hands and eat the kernels. 2 Some of the Pharisees asked, “Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”3 Jesus answered them, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4 He entered the house of God, and taking the consecrated bread, he ate what is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.” 5 Then Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”6 On another Sabbath he went into the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was shriveled. 7 The Pharisees and the teachers of the law were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath. 8 But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Get up and stand in front of everyone.” So, he got up and stood there.9 Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?”10 He looked around at them all, and then said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He did so, and his hand was completely restored. 11 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were furious and began to discuss with one another what they might do to Jesus.
See, the Pharisees were so caught up on what Jesus was doing against the law that they missed the miracle that he completed on the man that could not move his hand. As the son of God, He had the freedom to do what he wanted no matter what day or time it was and He stood for Love always even when people around Him tried to always find fault in Him. Even until his death, He had always been innocent and strong in giving scripture no matter whose toes he stepped on. As a believer and follower of Jesus, we are called to do the same and it isn’t supposed to be comfortable being a Christian, but it is always supposed to be rewarding and whatever the world brings to us, we have to continue to share the gospel to others.
People in this world are a lot like the Pharisees in this passage where we like to focus on the chaos around us and the unlawful things instead of focusing on the miracles Jesus can and is still doing on a daily basis. I am going to ask a controversial and hard question for you to ponder on as a believer of Jesus if you are reading this, are you willing to die while sharing the gospel? Are you willing to share the gospel even if it means losing a friend? If you answered yes to any of these then you know your purpose in life. If the answer is no, maybe you need to see where those feet are truly lying and allow God to direct you in where you should be walking and not worrying about stepping on toes while giving the truth of the gospel.
To close out todays reading I wanted to leave you with this, we aren’t perfect people, no one is, but wouldn’t you want to tell everyone about a perfect savior named Jesus, even if, during the process toes were to be stepped on? Live your purpose, which is to tell the truth of the gospel always even when people try to find fault in your reasonings and don’t be afraid of stepping on those toes because, remember Jesus flipped tables too (Matthew 21:13)
