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Never Outsourced

For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. – Ezekiel 34:11

God is the only hero in the Bible. That may not be what you’ve heard in Sunday School, but it’s true. There’s great good news in this truth. When we look at the people in the Bible and begin to sort them into heroes and villains it’s easy for us to pick sides and want to emulate the good and avoid the bad. But they are all fallen and flawed just like each of us. And God never outsources the work of salvation to mere mortals. Yes, he works through human beings. He inspires, invites and encourages us to bring his message to those who need to hear it. But the message is always his. The work is always his. He Himself searches for the lost and looks after them.

That is a liberating concept. We are not responsible for the salvation of the world. God has already accomplished that. We are not responsible for the salvation of our families. God has already accomplished that. We are not responsible for the salvation of ourselves. God has already accomplished that. God never outsources the work of salvation to a person or group of people. His call on us is to live our lives surrendered to his will. As that will is done in and through us others will come to know that, they too, are sought and saved by their loving Father and Shepherd of us all.

If you are carrying a burden to save the world (or any person in it), I encourage you today to lay it down.

Prayer
Lord, reveal to me any ways in which I am trying to do your work of salvation. Forgive my arrogance and remind me that you are the only hero. Thank you for always and only being the one who searches for the lost and looks after them. Amen.