Matthew 10:14 – Jesus speaking, “And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when you depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet.”
When Friends of Mexico began a ministry in Mexico, the missionary went to many mountain villages seeking locations in which they could share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. One evening in a particular village as he was sharing Christ with the people, one man came up and cried out in his language, “You lie, you lie!” And he had a gun and said he was going to shoot the missionary. He meant it. Some of the villagers intervened and tried to stop this angry man but told the missionary that he had to leave “now.” So, he left.
Years later while on a mission venture in Mexico, we decided to return to that location and see if it was now possible to begin to minister there. We decided to use a sports ministry and were able to get a number of boys and young men to engage in a game of softball. I will never forget being there because I have never seen a softball hit so far. Not only did it go out of a very large area where we were playing, but it went over the road that runs through this village and landed by some homes on the other side of the road. Wow! We were there for about two hours and had a good time with these young people. However, as the missionary was seeking approval, from the adults, to return later to try to establish some type of interaction with the people, he received no encouragement. With sad hearts we walked away, leaving many friendly young people with no hope of ever hearing the Truth that brings “real life.” We had to shake off the dust from our feet.
Years later now the remembrance of this still saddens me. Yet, in many areas of this world there are places that have never even been visited as was this village.
I believe we are back in New Testament times where Jesus was hated and our Band of Brethren were being persecuted, killed, and run out of certain areas of the world and even in my country today, we are having to shake off tons of dust from our feet.
Are we, you and I, willing to go beyond, willing to get dust on our feet, and pay any price necessary so that “some” can hear the Truth of “real life,” that being the Gospel of Jesus Christ?
