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Refreshment in Refuge
by Gina Burgess
In Gone With The Wind, Scarlett stands in the midst of a sea of bodies, some still as death, others rolling and groaning in pain. It's just her and the doctor, and perhaps one or two others. She tries desperately to get the doctor to come help Melly who is having her baby. It is the last vestiges of the Civil War and the South was dying, her sons dying, her cities burned and destroyed, her plantations desolate. Scarlett suddenly decides she has had enough and she races home to pack and leave Atlanta to go home to Tara. Everything seems hopeless until Rhett Butler scrounges up a buckboard and a broken down mule to take her out of the chaos. Then just when she was feeling safe, Rhett seemingly abandons her, to join the fight, but not without giving her a weapon. Armed with a pistol and determination, and most likely a heart full of fear (fear of what she was leaving behind rather than what she was facing) she trudges toward home.
Don't you think that sometimes God looks down from Heaven and sees that sea of dying people? Some are dead already, others need the medicine of His word, but the workers are few. In Luke 10:2, Jesus points out the harvest is great, but the laborers are few. Every one of the lost will go to Hell. There is no exception and there is no excuse. Every single Christian stands in that sea of bodies which writhe and groan in pain. Whoever is closest is responsible. Whoa! What a scary thought! I see people setting in pews and hatching out nothing, soaking up teachings but never applying the principles to their lives nor taking any action. As Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-10 too many Christians are asleep (morally lazy) or drunk (actively, willfully sinning). How can we bear witness unless we be more like Him? Too many of us are over entertained and under challenged.
Do we look around and see future inhabitants of Hell? Can we point to a burden with a name... names we want to take to Heaven with us?
I stand at the front of the church and sing, "Rescue the perishing, care for the dying. Jesus is merciful. Jesus will save." Tears gather and fall like rain. A young one comes forward, parents follow and joy fills the church. We've added another family member to our fold. But, how many are outside the doors who don't even know enough to look up for hope? How many don't even know there is healing balm for all their pain, and there is salvation from the great wrath to come? How many suffer from devastating loneliness, not knowing there is a loving family just inside those tall doors of the church. The church has been given gifts to help move this along, and I wonder how many of us are operating inside our special gift?
The harvest is great and white, ready to be plucked. Pray for God to send workers, because the groaning sea is too great a burden for just the few.
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Gina Burgess has taught Sunday School and Discipleship Training for almost three decades. (Don't tell her that makes her old.) She earned her Master's in Communication in 2013.
She is the author of several books including: When Christians Hurt Christians, The Crowns of the Believers and others available in online bookstores. She authors several columns, using her God-given talent to shine a light in a dark world. You can browse her blog at Refreshment In Refuge.
If you'd like to take a look at some Christian fiction and Christian non-fiction book reviews check out Gina's book reviews at Upon
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