[12] Now concerning our brother Apollos, I strongly urged him to visit you with the other brothers, but it was not at all his will to come now. He will come when he has opportunity. 1 Cor. 16:12 (ESV)
I don’t know that I would have wanted to go if I were Apollos either. Apollos had been there before, He was well liked by many there. In fact, he was so well liked that people championed him to the point of despising others, even Paul, his beloved mentor in the faith. This must have been a hard reality for Apollos to accept, people loved him so much that they jeopardized his friendship with Paul. I think He was wise not to go. He was wise to leave the correction to a neutral third party, Timothy. Sometimes we can not fix the problems we have created wittingly or unwittingly. I think of people I have inadvertently clashed with, sometimes more of a clash of personality than anything. Some of those I have not seen in Church in a long time. I know a visit from me would throw gasoline on a fire. Yet I am hesitant to remove them from the roster. I wonder if a pastor following me might be better suited to bring them back in the fold, if I just leave the situation alone for now. Some might think that I bloat the numbers I send into synod. That I leave them on to make myself look better in the eyes of Synod. When I stop removing the deceased from the rolls, that will have validity. But I really could care less about the numbers, or looking good in the eyes of synod. The numbers mean nothing to me, even if they do mean something to synod. I’m dealing with souls, and that takes patience, and sometimes the intervention of someone else better suited. For that I pray
1 comment:
The future of the lost soul is far more important than any bit of pride we might have.
I think you are right on, Bror. Others may be the tool that God uses to bring someone back into the fold.
To recognize that's God's power doesn't begin and end with 'me', is to begin to recognize the power that is contained in His Word.
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