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The Liberator – Today’s Family Devotion

The Liberator

Bible Reading: Matthew 4:18-22

Come, be my disciples, and I will show you how to fish for people! Matthew 4:19

YOU PROBABLY DON’T picture yourself as a spiritual commando decked out to bat­tle the forces of evil. You might use words like “saved” or “born again” to describe yourself as a Christian. But here’s what you are to the kids around you who don’t know Christ: a liberator. When you evangelize and disciple others, you liberate them from the power of sin and Satan.

God’s Word is clear: He intends for you to be involved in his rescue operation.  There are several reasons why you should consider yourself a freedom fighter in your school and community.

  1. Jesus calls you to be a liberator. Jesus told his first disciples to tell others about him from home — for them, that was Jerusalem — to the ends of the earth (see Acts 1 :8). He also said to them, “Come, be my disciples, and I will show you how to fish for people!” (Matthew 4:19). If you’re like most Christians, you like the idea of following Jesus. You see how great it is to have a trustworthy leader who protects you and drenches you with wisdom. But Christ also calls you to be a witness (com­municating the good news) and people-fisher (pulling others out of darkness). God intends for us to share our relationship with him with others.
  2. The non-Christians around you need to be set free. It’s a life-and-death fact: No matter how hip and happy people might look, if they haven’t trusted Christ they’re headed in only one direction: eternal separation from God. Jesus has com­passion for the people around you who are chained in darkness. They are “harassed and helpless,” he said, “like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36, NIV).
  3. You are indispensable in God’s rescue plan. Someone needs to speak the good news to people you know well-and not-so-well. The apostle Paul asked how people can hear about Jesus “unless someone tells them” (Romans 10:14). God wants you to be that someone!
  4. You want to rescue others because God rescued you. Paul said that he was compelled by Christ’s love to join him in his rescue mission (see 2 Corinthians 5:14). Ponder this: What would your life be like today without Christ? If you are grateful that God lovingly invited you to be his child, then join him in inviting others to trust him. The more deeply you fathom God’s love for you, the more you will want to help others find him.

REFLECT: Are you ready to call yourself a liberator? Why or why not?

Pray: Talk to God about your hopes and fears about telling others about him.