The parents left the house early in the morning, telling the children they could not say when they would return. Before leaving, however, they gave the children a list of jobs to complete in their absence. The list included tasks that would care for the family, but also a list of tasks to reach out to those outside the family. After some time, the parents returned. They found that the children had completed pretty well the items on the list most closely affecting their comfort and well-being. Unfortunately, the items designed to bring others relief and comfort were left undone. The children had chosen to bless themselves instead of blessing others.
25 As he also says in Hosea:
“I will call those who were not my people, ‘My people,’ and I will call her who was unloved, ‘My beloved.’”
26 “And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’
there they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’”
26 “And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’
there they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’”
Romans 9:25-26
Let me make a polarizing, yet thoroughly scriptural statement: every Christian is a missionary, in some capacity. Last week, my church held a powerful missions conference. Many missionaries from the Far East, from Russia, from South America, from other U.S. states, and from "across town" came to be loved on, to tell us about their ministries, to encourage us to support the spreading of Jesus Christ's gospel. My family was very blessed to meet new, dear friends and to be challenged to do the following:
1. Love More
This is the basis for being an obedient missionary (that is, an obedient Christian!). When we love God supremely, we will be supremely obedient to His mandate to spread the gospel.
When we love Him madly, we also love people to an equally insane level. The two cannot be separated. This is why, when asked what God's greatest commandment is, Jesus gave two new ones which supersede, overarch The 10: "Love God with all that is in you, and then love your neighbor as much as you love yourself." (Mark 12:29-31) The love we have received through Jesus Christ compels us... (2 Cor. 5:14)
2. Look More
This means forming the habit of looking for opportunities to spread the gospel in your everyday life. There are opportunities all around us. As we shower God's love on other people, doors will open to tell them of His amazing grace. God honors our obedience. If we are an unloving people, a close-handed people, stingy with our love, our time, our money, our hearts, we will not see many opportunities to witness to others. The opportunities will still be there; we will just not see them.
If we sincerely pray that God will open our hearts and eyes, He will. And then, if we pray for additional opportunities, He will reveal them to us.
3. Obey More
It is not enough to merely see; we must then obey. When God opens a door, we must walk through it. Now listen, Christian friend: God does not call every one of us to the foreign mission field. However, He places each one of us IN a mission field - - this field called our "circle of influence". Here is how it works: as we work diligently, obediently in our current field, He will enlarge it. He will give us more opportunities to spread His good news of salvation.
Let's not live our Christian lives in disobedience, as privileged children. You can bet that the parents in my story disciplined their children when they returned home. God has entrusted to us life-changing news and a love that knows no measure. Let's "let it shine"!
Father, I thought of Hebrews 11:38 at the women's brunch with the lady missionaries last week, as they told of illnesses and threats on their lives and other horrors, as they told of souls saved and lives transformed. "People of whom this world was not worthy". Oh Lord! Please move our bowels to compassion! May we all become those people, a Body that is always ready to, in exercising our spiritual gifts, "go and tell". In Jesus' name, amen.
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