God sent prophet Ezekiel to the people of Israel in Ezekiel 3 and God said to him that “I will make you as unyielding and hardened as they are.”
‭‭Ezekiel‬ ‭3:8‬

God said this to him after acknowledging the fact that the people of Israel were “hardened and obstinate”.

I wondered why Gods solution to a hardened people was to make the messenger just as hardened and unyielding. My guess is that God didn’t want Ezekiel discouraged by their behaviour but inspired by it.

I began to think of the world we live in today, how we can be so quick to avoid any kind of rejection, especially from the people we’ve been sent to. We’ve become prophets who validate the disinterest of unbelievers, telling fellow believers to “allow them believe what they want to believe”.

I don’t think I blame us, I think it’s so easy to get comfortable among the 99 just like you. But the strength of our membership among the 99 is heavily dependent on our desire to see the lost 1 join in. God went in advance of Ezekiel and gave him a heart and will just as hardened and unyielding as the ones who were rejecting God.

This meant that no matter how many rejections Ezekiel got, he kept going back, no matter how many “I’m not interested” that came, he stayed praying, no matter how many snubbed messages, he kept sending.

I think God intended our doggedness to be most outstanding in our pursuit for lost souls. I don’t think it normal or ordinary that we’re satisfied with just our salvation and that of those in our circle, while justifying the apathy of unbelievers rather than expressing zeal to see them saved.

Our desire to see others come into the fold is evidence of the health of our souls.

So I hope this reminds you, like it did me, that Gods response to hardened and obstinate people was a hardened and unyielding messenger.

You and I are that hardened and unyielding messenger. We don’t stop until we see the fruits. I think this is what the world might call fanatical or radical, but that’s exactly how God intended it.