Think of some of the prophets in the Old Testament: Moses, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Amos, Isaiah. I doubt that any of them in their younger years imagined that they would be instructed by God to speak in God's Name. I can't imagine any of them eagerly planning to stand before crowds shouting out admonitions that were met (most often) with resistance.
After all, it is a basic part of human nature to want to be heard, and at least acknowledged for what has been said. Even more, humans, in general, want to be accepted and liked, if at all possible.
However, that is not the way things always work when it comes to delivering God's Messages. In fact, if you consistently hit the nerves of humanity with the truth that is most necessary according to the Lord, it is likely that you will die. Yet as you die you are lifted up in God's arms forever,
As Pastor Uhle said last Sunday, we are called by Christ
to confront evil and proclaim Good News. We need to live in balance,
giving equal attention to what is out of alignment with God's Will AND
to the promise that, in the end, God's Will for our eternal forgiveness
and salvation has been assured in Christ.
Each of us is likely to be a "minor prophet" as we follow Jesus. We will be led into situations that are out of line with God's will, and as we proclaim our understanding (hopefully revealed to us by God) of what is going on we may agitate the sources of injustice and inequality. Most of us will not lose our lives in a literal sense. Many of us will lose the approval and affirmation of others. But none of us will lose the Love of God.
Like it or not, want to or not, God may choose you to be prophetic this week. What will you say?
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