Gathering His Own

Gathering His Own
I will surely gather all of you, O Jacob; I will surely bring together the remnant of Israel. I will bring them together like sheep in a pen, like a flock in its pasture; the place will throng with people.
Micah 2:12 NIV
I think that God is on a mission. He has a desire that must supersede all other things in the world. God's plan has been in place since the beginning of time. Slowly but surely He directs, creates and orders lives for His purpose. God is doing all things in order to gather His people. Kind of like a sheepherder, moving His flock into the pen, the Lord is gathering his flock from the four corners of the earth, gathering His flock from the ages until all that belong to Him have been brought into the ‘Safe Place.’
We may wonder how long before God is finished with His work? We may think that evil has reached such an apex that surely God's return is imminent. But He is still gathering, still giving men and women the time and opportunity to repent. He is still giving us time to do His will in this world, telling others of Christ.
What would you think if I said that the Lord's mission and plan were to use everything to win others to Christ? Maybe the Lord uses your damaged reputation, your money, your children, your barrenness, your intellect, your successes and mistakes, your kindness, your very life to gather His sheep? Consider that the wounds of Christ were used to heal us of physical and spiritual disease (Isaiah 53:5). The wounds of Christ gathered (and they are still saving and gathering) multitudes to the Father. Maybe, the things we suffer, or even the things we are blessed with, are the sole property of God, and He has a right to use these things to gather His own? Maybe, the things we endure, no matter if they are fair or not, are like treasures in the Father's eyes because they accomplish the task of assembling, calling together all that belong to Him?