April 9

Even So Send I You

“Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am on my way, someone else goes in before me.” — John 5:7 BSB

Aren’t there many unsaved people in every community who could also say, “I have no one to bring me to Christ”? There are many lost souls for whom no one seems to care. It’s true that the gospel is offered to everyone and anyone can come to Christ if they choose, but Christians shouldn’t forget that the unsaved can only receive grace through the saved. Those who have been forgiven must be the ones to bring the news of mercy to those who haven’t yet heard it. Salvation is from God alone, but the priesthood of believers is human. God’s usual way of bringing sinners to the Savior is through the love and pleading of other believers. Jesus said, “As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” We are called to do for the unsaved what Christ did when he was here—go to them and ask if they want to be made whole.

Are there not lost people around us who, on the day of judgment, could say, “The Christians near me never led me to the fountain, never even asked me to come to it for cleansing”? This man waiting at the edge of the pool at Bethesda represents many people near us, so close to the source of healing, with hearts longing for peace, needing only the help of a kind hand to lead them to the Savior, yet never receiving that help. They sit there year after year, unsaved. Surely we shouldn’t allow anyone near us to perish without doing everything we can to lead them to the healing waters.

How can we claim to be saved ourselves if we don’t care about the salvation of others? Let’s look around and see if there’s anyone nearby who could say what this man said. Then let’s quickly go and lead them to the Savior.