Saturday – Open Topic

Reading –

““Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. So be as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭10‬:‭16‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Okay everyone, who loves snakes, raise your hand.

Not too many hands going up, are there?

I’m going to go against most commentaries here. They say we have something to learn from the evil wisdom of snakes.

I don’t know about that, but I do know what a snake’s best defense is.

Invisibility.

Snakes blend into their environments. If you don’t believe me, go to the reptile house at any zoo and see how long it takes you to find all the snakes.

This verse is part of Jesus’ pep-talk to his disciples when He sent them out to spread the gospel.

Is He telling them to hide?

In context, we find out that the disciples are told to bring the Gospel to the families who will listen, and to not waste time sharing with people who reject the message.

In other words, don’t be obnoxious when you share the Gospel.

If people don’t want to hear about it, respect them and their wishes. That will go a lot farther toward bringing people to God than speaking an unwanted message.

Do you listen to people with whom you share the Gospel?
Do you show them respect by not trying to force Jesus on them?
Have you found other ways to spread the Word about salvation?