Ezekiel 33:7-9 "Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. When I say to the wicked, 'O wicked man, you will surely die,' and you do not speak out to dissuade him from his ways, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. But if you do warn the wicked man to turn from his ways and he does not do so, he will die for his sin, but you will have saved yourself."
There are two lessons in this passage for Christian ministry communicators-one of responsibility and one of trust.
In the area of responsibility, we must present the message of the good news of Jesus Christ clearly and completely. We tell the story in our written publications by the messages we choose to share, by the lives we profile that show the principles of faith. We use every means we can-clear writing, appropriate typography, and quality graphics to communicate our message. We tell the story on our web sites by a commitment to clarity and constant updating.
Having done all we know how to do we then must move into the area of trust. We might be able to change the design of our newsletter or website, but we can never change hearts. Only God can do that.
We also may never know the extent of the influence of our publications. We can and should take reader surveys and ask for feedback, but we may never know how a newsletter message passed on to a neighbor may have changed a life. Or how a written word may be saved to be read again and again by a person alone. When the little boy gave his small lunch to Jesus, he had no idea his Lord would use it to feed 5,000 people. In the same way we offer in faithful service our bits of words and type and the Lord can use them in extraordinary ways. Sometimes you'll hear about it. Most often, here on earth, you won't.
But do expect to someday be surprised by the tap on your shoulder in heaven and prepare to hear the story of a life changed because you had the courage to be a faithful watchman and told the gospel story with love and clarity.
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The above material is from: Devotions for Church Communicators. For a complete copy of the book in print and online formats, CLICK HERE.
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