Light the Fire

“And then he [Jesus] told them, ‘You are to go into all the world and preach to Good News to everyone, everywhere.”1

FedEx CEO and founder, Fred Smith, first developed the idea for an innovative airfreight company while he was a student at Yale University.

His professor was less than impressed. The paper Smith submitted outlining the concept earned him a C. Thirty years later, FedEx is the world’s largest express transportation company, with 128,000 employees and more than $7 billion in capital.

Smith’s shortsighted professor didn’t take a few things into consideration. One was Smith’s persistence—he refuses to give up. Another is his resourcefulness—when plan A doesn’t work, there is always a plan B to put in motion. Most important, however, was Smith’s ability to recruit others to his vision.

People want to be part of what he is involved in—even to the point of sacrifice. In the early days, for example, his pilots often refueled company jets with their own money. Sometimes they sat on paychecks for months to help keep the company afloat.2

Can you imagine what would happen if every Christian had that kind of attitude in wanting to be a part of God’s plan and what he is doing in the world today—and was willing to make that kind of a sacrifice to follow Christ and accept his commission to take the gospel to everyone everywhere?

Suggested prayer, “Dear God, in the words of the song writer: ‘Oh Lord please light the fire, That once burned bright and clear, Replace the lamp of my first love, That burned with holy fear.’ Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Mark 16:15 (TLB).
2. Adapted from Coy Wylie, TX, www.cornerstonebc.com

<:))))><

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>