READING: Psalms 77-78, Romans 10
“And how can they hear without a preacher? And how can they preach unless they are sent?”
Romans 10:14-15
I must be gut-level honest after reading Romans 10 today. Every time I read this chapter, I’m reminded of my call to preach – and my heart longs for more opportunities to do so. Next week, it will be 43 years since I heard in my heart these words: “I want you to preach My word.” The message was so clear to me that those words have not wavered in more than four decades; I know without question that God somehow caught my attention and drilled that calling into my heart. To this day, I get chills thinking about that day.
I also know that God has graciously allowed me to serve at Southeastern Seminary. I love teaching, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to invest in students. If this job, however, somehow required me to stop preaching, I could no longer do it. When the “preaching bug” bites, it bites hard!
The apostle Paul reminds us in today’s reading that preaching matters. No one can be saved without believing in Christ. No one can believe without hearing about Him. No one can hear unless someone comes to proclaim the gospel. And, how can one go to proclaim unless he’s sent? God’s plan so centers on proclaiming the Word that the scriptures say to us, “As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who announce the gospel of good things!’” (Rom. 10:15).
Think about God’s plan. He has so organized His world and His callings that He’s given us only one means by which people get saved: they hear the gospel of Jesus Christ and respond in repentance and faith. He has then granted us the deep responsibility and the incredible privilege to be the ones who tell that story; we get to be His messengers of good news. All of us have that obligation, regardless of whether we serve God and the church professionally. Some of us serve as pastors, and we speak good news to the same church family each week. Some are missionaries, and we’re often blessed to be the first persons to speak that good news to a people group. Others of us serve in roles like mine as a professor, and we have varied and recurrent opportunities to proclaim the Word. Still others are laypersons who tell the message to their family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers.
This privilege, for all of us, is frankly beyond my comprehension – and still God sees my feet as beautiful as I proclaim His Word! That’s amazing.
ACTION STEPS:
- Prayerfully commit to fulfilling your responsibility to proclaim the Good News.
- Thank God for your pastor. If you are a pastor, thank God for the opportunity to preach.
PRAYER: “Father, use me to share the gospel with somebody this week. I want my feet to be beautiful before You.”
TOMORROW’S READING: Psalms 79-80, Romans 11:1-18
