In some ways, these last two months have enabled an awful lot of us to pause and reset some directions and priorities in our lives. I have heard from some friends and neighbors that these unusual times have afforded them opportunities to reflect, to reorient, to reconnect… Getting back to some of the basics in their family relationships and having the time to take an inventory of who they are, where they are going, what they are doing… In some cases, the idea involves thinking about who and what they want to be on the other side of this “sheltering in place.”
As I think about this season, I am reminded of the butterfly’s life cycle. It starts out as a caterpillar. Then it cocoons for a season. Then it emerges with new wings and a remarkably different lifestyle. Perhaps some of us will find that this season of quarantines and stay-at-home orders will be a chrysalis from which we emerge differently.
This coming Sunday my message will be taken from Proverbs 11 in which the subject of hoarding is addressed. Hoarding is one effect of this Coronavirus pandemic that has been in the news quite a bit – and it presents a very real temptation to all of us during these times of real and perceived shortages. But more on that on Sunday!
At the very end of Proverbs 11, there is a verse that brings to mind the lifestyle and ministry philosophy of the Apostle Paul. Proverbs 11:30 tells us that, “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and whoever captures souls is wise.” Many translations translate the Hebrew word for ‘take’ with the word ‘win.’ For instance, the NIV reads: “He who wins souls is wise.”
There is a wisdom that is soul-winning. There is a wisdom that “captures” souls for the kingdom of God. And one cannot read a verse like this without hoping or wishing that it was true of them. Oh, to be a soul-winner! It was the driving desire of men like Calvin who resolved to preach the gospel every Lord’s Day. Of Whitfield and Wesley alike whenever they entered a new town, came across a broad field, or entered a stranger’s home. Of Spurgeon, who would make a beeline for Jesus every time he entered a pulpit. But is there anything that can help us think concretely about what that soul-winner’s wisdom might look like?
The Apostle Paul uses remarkably similar language in 1 Corinthians 9. Beginning in verse 19, he writes:
For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them… I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.
Soul-winning involves change! A particularly humble, servant-like change. One obvious take away from this text is that if we are not or have not been a soul-winner, perhaps we need to change?
Which brings us back to the caterpillar. I would like to pastorally invite you to spend this cocooning time reflecting on how you might emerge with a renewed commitment to and passion for the souls of men and women who desperately need Jesus – let the thought of them entering eternity without Him keep you up at night! Let that concern become more real and tangible to you than your concern to be sure your garage door is closed at night or your car’s gas tank is above empty.
To that end, please spend some time pondering what you will become in order to win whom. Dear Christian, dream big! Have high hopes! God has attached very real promises to the proclamation of the gospel! We have the example of Paul to consider – the only man other than Christ himself the Bible calls us to imitate! (See Philippians 3:17). He ‘became” many things in order to win many different types of souls. Print this note up. And fill in the following blanks!
- I will become ____________________ in order to win ______________________.
- I will become ____________________ in order to win ______________________.
- I will become ____________________ in order to win ______________________.
Let’s emerge from our homes in a month or two with our wings flapping – with the wisdom of soul-winners!
Your Pastor,
Bob Bjerkaas
N.B. The image is taken from Vincent Van Gogh’s work, “Butterflies and Poppies” available in the public domain thanks to the Google Art Project.