Fellow Christian—you who are redeemed with the precious blood of Christ—does your heart burn with a desire to see others saved? You, who are saved from the coming wrath, do you not wish to warn others to “flee from the wrath to come”? Would you not like to be used of the Lord to carry His message of love to some poor perishing souls?
All around us people are passing onward very quickly to the “lake of fire.” Neighbors, friends, and even relatives are perishing. Streets teem with people who, though living in a Christian land, have never really heard the story of God's great salvation, nor been warned of approaching judgment. The Lord Jesus beheld Jerusalem and wept over it when He thought of the awful time that was coming. Does not the sight of men, women, and children going heedlessly on to destruction, stir your heart? Or, are you satisfied to be saved yourself, and have no concern for those about you?
Remember that your God loved the world, and sent His only Son into it to provide the way of salvation. He is not willing that any should perish, but He desires that all men might be saved (John 3:1616For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16); 2 Peter 3:9; 19The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)
9But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. (2 Peter 1:9) Tim. 2:4).
Now, let us suppose that you have an opportunity, and the ability to preach the gospel to a crowd of 365 persons who are mostly unsaved. Would not that be a blessed privilege? It would indeed. Very few servants of the Lord have an opportunity to address such a large audience of unsaved people today. Yet you have practically that very opportunity. You may reply that you cannot preach, and are very timid about speaking to people. Still, you can reach a very large audience with the gospel. Does this statement amaze you?
It has pleased God to use the humble little gospel tracts to the saving of many souls. Young Christians (older Christians too), these gospel tracts are within your power to use. Do not despise the handing out of a tract because it is a small work. It is definitely a means that God has put within your reach for the spread of His Word. Just stop for a moment and think what a large audience you will have, if you present a tract to everyone you meet, or speak to each of the Savior. Distributing an average of only one tract per day, you will have presented the gospel to 365 persons within a year.
There are some Christians who do not have access to many unsaved, but who are using the mail to carry the precious seed in tract form. They gather names and addresses from various sources, and then mail out tracts regularly.
You may say that all of the tracts will not be read, and that is true. But if you could gather 365 people to hear you preach, all of them would not listen. However, would it not be worth all of the effort if only one soul got saved? And would not God be glorified, in that, the story of His love was proclaimed in the world, even if no one received it? Surely He would. We can look to the Lord for blessing on the tracts, and should remember to water the seed with prayer.
Tracts sometimes have a long life. They are often handed from one person to another. They may be thrown down, but they are always ready to tell their story again whenever they are picked up. They dread no insult and know no fear. Incidents are known of tracts having been discarded by the recipient, only to fall into the hands of some anxious soul, and be used for real blessing. People have been blessed by tracts found in waste paper baskets.
“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” 1 Cor. 15:5858Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. (1 Corinthians 15:58).
If we continually wait for a more favorable time, we shall find that many opportunities have been lost. Another verse from the eleventh chapter of Ecclesiastes bears on this: