Last month Pastor Michael read a poem questioning are we really a friend to those we come in contact with? If you remember, in the poem the person who was the “friend” did all manner of things for the other person…except the most important thing. The “friend” did not share the Good News of Jesus and the other person went to their death unsaved and eternally lost in hell. Wow! How many times have I been a “good’ friend and done all sort of good works and actually even felt good about myself because of it and yet failed to share the gift of eternal life. We have all sorts of excuses…we don’t want to offend, we think we don’t know how to go about it, isn’t that the Pastor’s job anyway?, I’m no Bible scholar or I just don’t have the time. Let’s face it, we can talk ourselves into thinking that these are all reasonable excuses, but the Great Commission was not given to someone else. It was given to each of us who are saved through faith because of what Jesus did on the cross. If we give into our (un)reasonable excuses, we are saying NO to a very clear command from Jesus. We are saying that those who don’t know aren’t our responsibility. That is a lie…a lie the Enemy loves to encourage us to believe. What if someone hadn’t told us? Most people need to hear the Gospel over 20 times before they accept Jesus. What if no one went out of their way for us? Would we think there excuses were reasonable? If we are saved because of Jesus, then we are to live as He did. He did not live in excuses, but lived out of a great love for us all. To love Jesus is to love others. Love puts the other person first, not our excuses first. God forgive me for all the many times I failed to do what you commanded me to do. Help me to share the truth, not live in excuses. Amen.