Recently I had the great privilege of meeting some missionaries who work in a challenging part of the world. What struck me the most about them was not the incredible stories (although they certainly had those). It was how they talked about some of the individuals who had come to faith as a result of God's work through their ministry. They were still excited about the salvation of these friends even though it had happened some time ago. Their thankfulness to God was really clear.
I found that so convicting and inspiring. We can easily become numb to the significance of someone becoming a Christian. Maybe it is because we already know a lot of people who have become Christians. Maybe it is because we underestimate the importance of salvation because all we can see is any outward change, not what is going on spiritually. Whatever the reason, it is easy to slip into living like people becoming Christians doesn't matter that much.
It matters. It really does. That someone who was in rebellion against God would become a child of God, that Jesus would take their sins, that they would move from spiritual death to life is astounding. It is amazing and worth being thankful for.
That amazement should also fuel how we work to spread the message. It is easy to get complacent about talking about the gospel or to get frustrated with the administrative side of running evangelistic events. I try to remind myself when there is yet more organizing to do for the ministry I'm involved in how significant it would be if someone we were reaching out to became a Christian. With that in mind the effort seems so much more worth it.
