By Thomas E. Stephens
Suppose someone were to offer me a thousand dollars for every soul that I might earnestly try to lead to Christ. Would I endeavor to lead any more souls to Him than I am endeavoring to do now? Is it possible that I would attempt to do for money, even at the risk of blunders or ridicule, what I hesitate or shrink from doing now in obedience to God’s commands? Is my love of money stronger than my love of God or of souls? How feeble then is my love of God! Perhaps this explains why I am not a soul-winner.
SUPPOSE
Suppose I were to see a blind man unknowingly approaching the brink of a high precipice, and that I were to sit by without concern, or any effort to warn or save him from certain death. Would I not be as guilty of his death in God’s sight as though I had murdered him outright? The death of a body, which might have been (but was not) prevented, is a terrible thing; but how about the preventable death of a human soul — perchance of many souls — for which God may hold me responsible? If my murder of another’s body by neglect is an unspeakable crime, what shall be said of my murder by neglect of another’s soul?
Suppose that “when the roll is called up yonder,” I am there myself, but that all through the eternal ages I am unable to find a single person who is there because of my having led him to Christ. How much will heaven mean to me?
SUPPOSE
Suppose that as an employee I were spasmodic in the kind of service I rendered —zealous one week, lukewarm the second, and utterly indifferent the third; then zealous, and lukewarm and indifferent again, and so on. How long would my employer stand for such service as that? But is not this the kind of soul-winning service I am giving God? Or it may be not even as good as this. If God’s love for me were to be as spasmodically manifested as my love for Him, how would I fare?
SUPPOSE
Suppose that when the final reckoning comes, I should be found, not with ten talents, or even five, but with only one, and that one “hid in the earth” (Mt. 25:14-30) — what then? Has not the one soul-winning talent that God has given me fallen so into disuse that I even doubt its existence? And therefore have I not already “hid it in the earth?” Must I not beware lest the fate of the unprofitable servant be my fate?
SUPPOSE
Suppose I were to be asked how many persons I had persistently tried to win to Christ during the past month, or even during the past year. What would my answer be? How many have I even spoken to? How many have I on my prayer list now? If I am not interested enough in the salvation of others even to have a daily prayer list, is it any wonder that I am not a soul-winner?
SUPPOSE
Suppose that every member of the church to which I belong were to dedicate himself or herself today to a life of full surrender to the will of God according to His Word (Rom. 12:1-2), and were to become henceforth a soul-winner as exemplified in the life of Paul (I Cor. 9:20-22). Would not such a revival follow as this church and community have never seen? And am I not willing to say that by His grace I will give myself from this day forward to the definite business of saving the lost, that I will have a daily prayer list and will do what I can under the guidance of the Holy Spirit to help accomplish the supreme work for which my Lord and Master came into the world?
Yes Lord, I will gladly respond to Thy call (Mark 1:17), and will do what I can from this day forward to help win the unsaved to Thee.
Signed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
MY DAILY PRAYER LIST
(1 Tim. 2:1-4; 1 Jn. 5:16; Psa. 2:8)
NAME Date Accepted Christ
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SUPPOSE was slightly revised and may be reproduced and distributed.
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