He said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.” –Matthew 9:37
Francis of Assisi was a wealthy, highborn man who lived hundreds of years ago. He felt that his life was incomplete, and even though he had more than enough wealth, he was a very unhappy man. One day while he was out riding, he met a leper. The leper was loathsome and repulsive in the ugliness of his disease. Something moved Francis to dismount and fling his arms around this person. In the arms of Francis, the leper’s face changed to the face of Christ. Francis was never the same again.
Francis of Assisi spent the rest of his life serving his Lord Jesus Christ. He wrote these famous words as a prayer to God from the heart of a man who had a deep desire to be an instrument of God’s will on this earth:
Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.
GOING DEEPER:
1. Matthew 9:37 tells us there are many people who still need to know the peace, love, faith, hope, light, and joy of Jesus Christ. Are you willing to put in the work necessary to tell these people about Jesus?
2. How does it make you feel to know that God wants to use you as an instrument of peace?
FURTHER READING:
John 4:35; Luke 10:2