Are You a Watchman?

In Ezekiel 33 God talks about the role of a watchman. The watchman was posted on the wall of the city, to watch for intruders and threats to the city. God says that if the watchman sees trouble, blows his horn and the people do nothing, and are taken captive or killed, the “blood” of those people is not the responsibility of the watchman. He did his job and the people ignored him. However, if the watchman sees the enemy and does nothing and the people are killed, then the blood of the people is on the hands of the watchman. God then tells Ezekiel that he is the watchman for Israel and that he needs to tell the people what God says.

Can I admit to you that I struggle with how to apply this in my life? Should I set up on the street corner and shout the gospel to those who pass by and if I don’t do this, and they die and spend eternity in hell, is their blood on my hands? Or, is my responsibility to tell others confined to only those I have a relationship with and know well? And what if I don’t tell them…what if I keep silent because of fear or embarrassment? Is their blood on my hands? I’m quite certain that I don’t warn people as often as I should and I haven’t set up on any street corners with a bull horn. Anyone out there as conflicted about this as I am from time to time?

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