Today's Passage - Romans 1:13-15

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Romans 1:13-15   "I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles. I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome." Paul reminded us here that the believers are obligated to preach the gospel to the non-believers. Have you ever been in debt? How did you feel when you were in debt? Being in debt makes you feel being pushed, anything but peaceful. After the debt is paid off, you will feel like burden being lifted off your shoulder. Paul said that he had a special feeling to this world of non-believers, which was the obligation to preach the gospel. He felt that this obligation was always pushing him to preach the gospel with all kinds of wisdom and methods. Paul did not feel obligated only to the Jew. He said: "I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish". This is a great reminder to the Chinese churches. We often only think of Chinese people when we think about mission. Most of the times these churches only support the mission organizations that work among the Chinese, and only send out missionaries to wherever Chinese people live. We rarely preach the gospel to "non-Chinese", probably due to the Chinese culture. It is really God's wisdom that the gospel started from Europe instead of Asia. Had the gospel started from China, it would probably have stopped somewhere already, since we would have tried to keep it to ourselves under the heavy influence of "only passing on the secret recipe within the family" in Chinese culture.    The Chinese always regard themselves as the "center". We have been disparaging other nations all the time. This kind of nationality often prevents us from going out to preach the gospel. God has given us the Great Commission. May God put the obligation to preach the gospel in our hearts. Over the years, many Western missionaries dedicated their lives to mission due to their love for China. Hudson Taylor once said: "If I had a thousand pounds China should have it - if I had a thousand lives, China should have them." Every time I review the church history, I can't help from being moved by this kind of spirit for mission. God indeed put the obligation in their hearts. Because of their obedience we are able to enjoy God's grace now. Shouldn't we also ask God to give us the obligation, which was passed down from Paul all the way to this generation? Let's pray for the worldwide mission and for our non-believing friends and relatives. May God plant this feeling of obligation deep inside our hearts.                                                                          Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, you are the one that sends people out. You are the Lord of mission as well. We pray that you help us remove from us the narrow-minded individualism and nationalism, and put the divine obligation in our hearts instead, so we can keep praying for people around us to begin with, and preach your gospel to them. We thank you and we pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!