Ezekiel 3:4-6
And he said to me, “Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with my words to them. 5 For you are not sent to a people of foreign speech and a hard language, but to the house of Israel— 6 not to many peoples of foreign speech and a hard language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely, if I sent you to such, they would listen to you.
I remember speaking at a Mission’s Conference while an elder at our church and saying that missionaries belong on trading cards more than baseball players. I considered them superheroes. Little did I know that I too would be sent out, to find that all that is required is faithfulness and obedience. I thought I would need to learn another language and culture but that was not the case. What I did find is that sometimes, it can be harder to share Jesus on your home soil than in a foreign land. Ezekiel and Jesus knew that full well.
Ezekiel was told it would be harder to speak to his own than to the goyim. Jesus was not respected in his own town of Nazareth. To them, he was Old Man Joseph’s boy, the carpenter. They were not prepared to hear his gospel message. I encounter the same hesitation with family and at high school reunions because they remember who I was and they think that they live in a “Christian” country. May we be willing and able to communicate to someone in our circle their need for a Savior and the saving power of Jesus Christ.
O Heavenly Father, you have the words of salvation for the world. Give us the words to say to those who speak our language. In Jesus’ name. Amen.