Being a Christ-follower includes submitting to His calling for us to fish for others. We’re His “bait” in the world, used for the purpose of attracting more people to Him, and we’re the best kind of bait when our lives reflect the change that Jesus has made in us and lure those around us to His transformative love.

Next time you find yourself experiencing self-doubt or questioning your worth, remember this: before you were even born, God picked you to carry out His mission on earth. He’s chosen each of us not only to spend eternity with Him, but to spread His Gospel to the world while we’re here.

Scripture tells us that Jesus came to seek and save the lost — and God’s placed us on this earth so that we can be part of that mission. In order to be true witnesses for the Gospel, we need to have an ongoing and actively growing relationship with Jesus. The more closely we follow Him, the more He can make a different in and through us to get people hooked on the abundant life He offers.

When we become Christians, God’s Spirit takes up residence inside us, and we’re empowered to share the Good News with those around us. The Holy Spirit prompts us to reach out to others and spread the Gospel to the world, but in order to do that, we first need to have His power turned on in our lives.

Jesus declared in Scripture that He came to be the Light of the World (John 8:12). But He also declared that because we’re His followers, WE’RE the light of the world, too (Matthew 5:14)! When we surrender ourselves to the Lord, He shines a light within us that radiates outward — and people who live in darkness will be drawn to that light that’s inside us because of Jesus.

In the same way that employees of a company represent their company, we, as followers of Christ, represent Christ to everyone we meet. We’ve been commissioned to share the redeeming message of the Gospel — but often, we’re reluctant to do so. In every interaction, our job is to share what it means to follow Jesus and offer an invitation for others to join us in the journey.

Part of being a Christian is having the Holy Spirit dwelling in us. All around us, God provides opportunities for us to tell the world about Him. And when the Spirit prompts us to speak up and share the Gospel with other people, it’s our job to be bold enough to step out of our comfort zone and obey.

When Peter shared the Gospel with Cornelius — a Gentile — it served as an example that sometimes, God will push us outside our comfort zones and cause us to break traditions for the ultimate goal of reaching others. It’s important to listen for the voice of God so that we’re not venturing out and doing things on our own. The people He calls us to reach and the places He calls us to go might stretch us personally, but every person is in need of a Savior, and it’s our responsibility to share the Good News.

When God leads us to lost people, He’s often already been working on their hearts. But when we ignore His leading to share the Gospel with them, it can be detrimental to their souls. Jesus gave up His life on a cross so that we could be made whole again — but He calls us to take up our own cross, get out of our comfort zones, and spread the Good News in turn.

We can’t leave the job of spreading the Gospel to preachers alone. Each of us has got to take responsibility for the people that God’s placed in our lives, and to share the Good News with them. We may be the only person in someone’s life who can tell them about God’s free gift of salvation!

Many people have a fear of death. As Christians, we don’t need to be afraid, because we know we’ll be spending eternity with Jesus. But just because we know where we’re going after this life, doesn’t mean everybody does — and it’s our job to tell them about Christ’s love instead of ignoring their fate and letting them live in fear and hopelessness.