The Watchman

I have sort of delayed writing this post for a while.  I am moving to Honduras in two days, what do I say?  This is a moment that I have prayed about and waited on for three and a half years; so what do you say when three and a half years of waiting and preparing is two days away?  I have asked for your prayers and support and you have faithfully offered it, but before I leave, I will ask one more thing of you...

A friend of mine recently turned me on to Ezekiel 33, the Watchman.  In this passage, Ezekiel is commissioned by God to be the watchman of Israel.  A watchman's duty is exactly that, to watch and alert.  If a people appoint a watchman, he is to alert the people of coming danger.  If anyone hears the alert, but does not heed the warning and he is killed, his blood is on his own hands.  But if the watchman does not alert the people of coming danger and they are killed, then their blood is on the hands of the watchman. 

Well, that makes sense.  If the watchman doesn't do his job and people die, it's his fault.  Simple enough. 

There is more to this though.  Why have a watchman? Is there an enemy attacking? What is he warning the people of?  What is out there that's so dangerous that will destroy the people, but that they are blind to? 

This watchman isn't there to warn the people of a foreign attacker.  He isn't even there to warn people of their sin.  He is there to warn people of the wrath of God, a wrath, which, if goes unsatisfied, will lead to eternal damnation.  This doesn't sound like good news.  This doesn't sound very warm and fuzzy.  This sounds harsh, and unloving, and evil.  God can be accused of none of this however, because he gave his son to appease his wrath and he appointed us all as watchmen to alert the unrepentant of the coming destruction.

We must tell them.

We are not bad.  We are dead. 

We are not sick and in need of medicine.  We are dead and in need of a miracle.

We are all dead.  Hondurans.  Americans.  Those in the 1st century.  Those in the 21st. 

This truth--we are dead--is the reason for the gospel.  It is the reason for Christ.  We can't leave this out.  We can't overlook the wrath of God for the love of God.  Without wrath, there is no love.  Without love, there is no wrath.  They are inseparable.  They are equal parts of God's character.  To share the gospel and leave out the wrath of God is to be a watchman and report sunny skies on the horizon even when you can see the attacking army.  The gospel minus the wrath of God is not the gospel--it is no gospel.

So why all this talk about the wrath and the watchman?  What does this have to do with me moving to Honduras? 

Well, quite simply, I'm going to be a watchman.  There are people in Honduras who are dead.  They need to hear the good news that although they are headed down a path that leads to eternal destruction, their debt has been paid.  I may be going to do this in Honduras, but in reality, you and I will be doing the same thing.  It doesn't matter where you call home, or work, or play, if you claim Christ, you too are a watchman.  You are responsible for the eternal state of the souls of those around you.  Right around you, wherever you are, people need to hear this news.  When you approach life this way, suddenly, the location becomes less important.  The amenities and comforts seem arbitrary.  The only thing that matters are the souls around you.  It doesn't really matter if the souls around you live in the suburbs or the slums.  It doesn't matter if the souls around you have showered today.  You see, rich or poor or clean or dirty, there all dead.  That is why my "mission" this year is no more important than yours.  God has given us the same task each and every day: to alert those around us of impending wrath as a result of their wickedness. 

I covet your support of me this year.  I will ask you to pray for me.  I will ask you to pray for the Hondurans.  However, the main thing I ask of you, is that you do not fail in your duties as a watchman because, after all, if you claim to be a follower of Christ, you are one.

The only question is:

Will you sound the alarm?