What if God Doesn’t Have a Plan B?
“Never, ever give up on the people in your life. In Romans 11 we see that the apostle Paul knows about this mystery and partial hardening of the Jews…yet he continually prays for them. And he continually shares Jesus with them. Though they keep rejecting, Paul keeps praying and sharing. What is the point? Never give up on people.” – Tony Walliser
Read Romans 11:1-29
What if God Doesn’t Have a Plan B?
Moments before ascending to heaven, Jesus gave His disciples a daunting commission: “…go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20). A fanciful story is told that not long after His ascension, an angel asked Jesus about it:
“Lord, You gave that command – to take the message of the gospel into all the world – to just 11 disciples?” the angel asked.
“Yes, that’s right,” Jesus answered.
“But, Lord,” the angel observed, “they’re a pretty rag-tag bunch.”
“Yes, I’m aware of that,” responded Jesus.
Hesitating, the angel inquired, “Um, what if they don’t succeed? What then? What’s Your plan B?”
Jesus’ response was simple: “I have no other plan.”
Note that Jesus’ Great Commission did not direct them to, “Go and build incredible buildings and invite the people to come and see them,” or “Go and produce wonderful TV shows, movies and videos.” No, His plan was straight-forward: Go – or more accurately, ‘as you are going’ – make disciples, people who are followers, learners, spiritual reproducers. Books and buildings and biblically sound productions can lend support to the gospel message, but the primary way of communicating it is from one person to another.
Last week we saw this clearly stated in Romans 10:14-15, “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’”
At its essence, the life-transforming, eternal message of Jesus Christ is best passed on from one person to another, through sincere, caring relationships.
We tend to think communicating the gospel is for ‘paid professionals’ – preachers and missionaries. That our job is to give financially to support their work and applaud when we hear reports of souls being saved. But that’s not what the Scriptures teach.
Admittedly, the disciples were an unlikely group to be entrusted with the best news in the history of the world. They weren’t trained pastors; none had attended a seminary or school of theology. As Acts 4:13 states, “When [the people] saw the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they marveled and took note that these men had been with Jesus.” Prior to His call on their lives, they had been fishermen, tax collectors, just ‘regular guys.’
In the same way, the Lord is calling on us to serve as His hands and feet, being ready wherever He takes us to tell others about Jesus. The apostle Paul stated it this way: “For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building” (1 Corinthians 3:9). The best we can do is to demonstrate through our lives, words, and actions that we too have ‘been with Jesus.’
Whether it’s in a college class, where we work, in our neighborhoods, or an unfamiliar town or city while traveling for business or on vacation, we’re to serve as “Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians 5:20).
How encouraging to know Jesus didn’t give us this assignment to do on our own. At the end of His Great Commission, He told the disciples – and us – “surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Through the Holy Spirit, the Lord is going with us wherever we go.
It starts with prayer. Speaking of the people of Israel, Paul said, “Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved.” Many had turned deaf ears to the saving message of Christ, but this didn’t discourage Paul or keep him from praying. This should motivate us to do the same for people we know – family members, friends, and colleagues who haven’t given their hearts to the Lord. Not yet.
Perhaps you’ve had the joy of seeing people you care about come to faith in Jesus. But maybe there are some God has placed on your heart who still haven’t done so. To apply the words of Winston Churchill, expressed in a very different context, “Never, never, never give up!”
Whoever they are, let’s pray that somehow the Lord will pierce their hearts and open their eyes to realize their need for salvation and forgiveness. As Paul wrote to the Gentiles in Rome, “Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy…so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now receive mercy as a result of God’s mercy to you” (Romans 11:30-31).
There was a time when someone was praying for us, even when we seemed disinterested. We are living proof that the prayers and someone’s bold, faithful witness work. As James 5:16 says, “…The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”