Taking Responsibility
If I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you will surely die,’ but you do not speak out to dissuade him from his way, then that wicked man will die in his iniquity, yet I will hold you accountable for his blood. But if you warn the wicked man to turn from his way, and he does not turn from it, he will die in his iniquity, but you will have saved your life. — Ezekiel 33:8-9
I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and encourage with every form of patient instruction. — 2 Timothy 4:1-2
Author
Milagros García Klibansky
Summary: Voluntarily surrendering our lives to Christ means recognizing and accepting responsibilities that transcend this life. The foremost is to preach the Gospel of Salvation, even when we feel uncertain, ashamed, or afraid that we will not know how to respond. Letting opportunities to speak about Christ pass us by means evading our commitment and limiting the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we must prepare ourselves and always wear the armor of God. If the message is rejected, we will have fulfilled our mandate; if it is received, we will have won a life for Christ. One day we will appear before the supreme tribunal and will have to answer to God for our actions and commitments.
INSIGHT is a term used in Psychiatry that means internalizing something, incorporating it, recognizing it. Sometimes we Christians do not have the “insight” that one day, voluntarily and out of conviction, we decided to give our lives to Christ and accepted the responsibility that this entails. By faith we know that Christ came to give us life in abundance—so much so that it is eternal life. We are convinced that our covenant with God transcends the boundaries of physical death and extends into other dimensions unknown to us; but by that same faith, we are convinced that one day we will stand before the Throne of Grace and be judged regarding the responsibilities we have undertaken. The foremost of these responsibilities is preaching the Gospel of Salvation, and this means overcoming ourselves in many respects. How many times do we feel in our hearts the need to speak to someone about Christ? What exactly keeps us from doing so? Do we assume our responsibility at that moment?
Many times, we let opportunities pass us by to share with others that divine gift that was given to us by grace, and at that moment we are evading our responsibility. We do not allow the Holy Spirit to guide us, to flow; instead, we lock Him inside the prison of our insecurities—insecurities that are sometimes objective, especially when we are not well prepared to answer the barrage of questions that will come our way, and at other times are subjective, when out of embarrassment we think we will not be well received. We cannot evade our responsibility to God; we must be prepared and always carry with us the armor of God (Ephesians 6:13–20). We cannot be ashamed to give our best, because if they reject us, we are not the ones who lose; rather, we have fulfilled our mandate. And if they accept us, we will be winning a life for Christ. With Him, we never lose. Yes, one day we will appear before the supreme tribunal, and we must be prepared to answer for our actions and for our commitments before the Judge.
Do you already know what you are going to answer Him?
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