"Whosoever shall do and teach [the commandments], the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. God is very grateful for those who preach his gospel. He blesses missionaries in this life, and in the life to come. Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. Leaving the gift at the alter may appear to be a "breach of liturgical propriety," but a sacrifice unfinished is better than "a wrong unconfessed and unatoned for," and better than the sin of unforgiving (http://biblehub.com/commentaries/matthew/5-24.htm).
To be forgiven by Jesus, we must forgive others. As Jesus instructed in modern times, "I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men." (Doctrine and Covenants 64:10). Forgiveness can be hard, but it is always worth it.
0 Comments
Based on Luke 5:1-11Peter the salesman has been cold-calling potential customers all week, but no one is biting. As he begins a new day's work, his boss comes over and asks why his numbers are so low. Peter describes his countless phone calls and overtime hours. But, he admits, he hasn't made a sale in over a week.
Later that day, as Peter hangs up after another futile call, Jesus enters the office. Jesus asks Peter if he will stop his calls so that Jesus can use the office to preach. Peter thinks about his boss' visit that morning. He thinks about his sales quota and his miserably low numbers. He thinks about his family at home, who are depending on him. Yet Peter feels something inside of him that prevents him from refusing. He agrees to Jesus' request, and Jesus walks to the front of the office to preach. As he begins to speak, people starts filing into the office. Sales partners. Curious coworkers from the department next door. Even people who do not belong to the company. People form a crowd around the office, trying to hear Jesus speak. Peter listens intently. As the work day comes to a close, Jesus concludes his remarks. Slowly, the crowd begins shuffling out of the office, until only Jesus and Peter remain. Jesus pulls a post-it note from his shirt pocket with a string of numbers written neatly on it. He hands the note to Peter, and says, "Call this number, and ask if they will buy your product." Peter quickly responds, "Master, I have worked all week making calls, but I haven't made a single sale." Then, after a short pause, he continues, "But even so, I will do as you ask." Peter calls the number, and sure enough, the woman at the other end is anxious to buy a massive order of the product. In fact, she belongs to a network of companies that have been looking for just the solution that Peter's company sells. She emails Peter a long list of company contacts, and Peter and his sales partners spends the rest of the month making sales just based on the list. At the end of the month, Jesus returns to the office. Peter is in the conference room, discussing a new product launch with his sales partners, James and John. When Peter sees Jesus entering the room, he falls to knees, followed by James and John. Peter cries out, "I am not worthy to be in your presence, Lord. I do not deserve the success and prosperity that you have brought to me and my family." Jesus motions for the men to stand up. He looks directly into Peters eyes, and loving responds, "Do not be afraid. From now on, you will serve God and offer something money cannot buy. Something of infinite worth. Leave your jobs, and follow me." At that very moment, Peter, James, and John exit the building, and, leaving everything behind, follow the Savior. And straightway he called them: and they left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants, and went after him. Every returned missionary at one time or another feels the heavy contrast between being a "fisher of men" and being a fisherman. Jesus called James and John to leave their fishing jobs and follow him. However, Jesus did not call Zebedee. Instead, Zebedee's work responsibilities increased because he no longer had the help of his sons. Zebedee was given different responsibilities than his sons, but he was still expected to 'increase the talents' he was given. Perhaps James and John would need financial support in their ministering, and Zebedee's fishing career would allow him to support his sons. At different times of our life, we have different mixes of responsibilities--family, work, church, civil, etc. God simply asks that we increase whatever talents we are given, during each stage of our lives. And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they [the wise men] departed into their own country another way. Just as God protected Jesus so that he could fulfill his mission, God protects missionaries. The protection afforded to missionaries is truly a miracle. I escaped many dangerous situations on my mission unharmed. Sometimes the protection comes through other people, sometimes through promptings of the Holy Ghost (to not go somewhere, or to run), sometimes through a heavenly messenger.
With that said, some missionaries do experience physical harm. Some missionaries die on their missions, as did the martyr Stephen. Before being stoned, Stephen said to his persecutors, "Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye. Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers" (Acts 7:51-52). I do not know why some missionaries experience harm, and others do not. What I do deeply believe is that, "All that is unfair about life can be made right through the Atonement of Jesus Christ." Because Jesus Christ suffered all things and died for all mankind, he can succor us when we need comfort and peace the most. |
Archives
October 2022
Categories
All
For anyone interested, I have a professional blog titled The Instructional Designer's Toolkit where I share tools and inspiration for instructional designers and e-learning developers.
|