By Alissa Runke: Fourth Year Summer Missionary
This past year, I’ve been reading through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. I love reading most parts of the Old Testament, like Genesis, Exodus, Psalms, Proverbs, and many of the other books. But to be honest, I wasn’t looking forward to reading the prophets.

They’ve always seemed so confusing to me.
However, I discovered the exact opposite. As I read Isaiah and Jeremiah, God showed me so many things about Himself that I had never seen before. Lamentations was short, but meaningful, and then I came to Ezekiel. Ezekiel, with its 48 chapters filled with unusual symbols, seemed a little terrifying to me. I started reading, wondering what God would show me through this, when all of a sudden, something I was reading jumped out at me. In the first chapter, the glory of God appears to Ezekiel. In the second chapter, the call comes. God commands Ezekiel to speak to the Israelites, and then, in verse 7, He says,
“And you shall speak my words to them, whether they hear or refuse to hear, for they are a rebellious house.”
Instantly, I felt that that verse was speaking to me. I had to ask myself, do I do that? When I go out in the summer and teach kids about God and how much He loves them and how Jesus died for them, what do I do when they don’t listen? If I am honest, I can be pretty good at making up excuses sometimes of why I shouldn’t go talk to that kid and tell them about Jesus. It can be scary. But God doesn’t give Ezekiel a second choice. He calls Ezekiel and commands him to speak His words to the people. In the next chapter, He even goes so far as to tell Ezekiel that the Israelites won’t listen. But that doesn’t change Ezekiel’s calling. And that shouldn’t change our calling. Most people in the church are fairly familiar with the Great Commission. But sometimes, we view it less as a commission, and more as a suggestion. But Jesus doesn’t give that option. He says, at the end of Matthew 28, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”
This isn’t a conditional statement. We are called, as followers of Jesus, to go out and share the Gospel, whether people listen or not.
That’s a hard calling. But it is the most important thing we can do here on earth. It gets hard. When I’m teaching my third 5 Day Club of the day, and it’s my fourth week of teaching, do I always feel like reaching out and sharing the Gospel? Thankfully, Jesus gives us a very special promise at the end of the Great Commission. He says, “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” When I went to Christian Youth In Action training camp in June, we talked a lot about Psalm 23 and how God is our Good Shepherd. He promises to never leave me, and this means a lot to me. Even when I might be tired and feel like I can’t go on, my Shepherd is right there beside me, giving me His strength. Sometimes, I definitely don’t feel equipped enough to share the Gospel. I might completely mess up my words. But I know that God is with me. When He calls me, He gives me the strength to answer His calling. What a joy to know that our Good Shepherd is always with us, giving us the strength and boldness to share His Gospel!
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