The Call to Missions

Something inside really clicked when reading Thomas Hale's description of the call to missions.

Should we still be sending missionaries?
If the answer is "no," then you can skip the rest of this book. But, in fact, the answer is a resounding "yes." Whenever missionaries go on furlough they are likely to be asked to speak on the biblical basis of missions. It's as if people needed to be reassured that missions and missionaries were really necessary. After all, a lot of hard-earned money is flittering off int othose foreign lands, when what the church at home really needs is a new parking lot. Oddly, when it comes to defending their calling, missionaries themselves are among the most inarticulate. Many simplay say, "I was called." And that is the heart of it. It is not "we" who send missionaries' it is God. (Click) Throughout the Bible, God is revealed to be a sending God. He sent Abraham to the land of Canaan; he sent Joseph to Egypt; he sent Moses to resuce his people; and he sent prophet after prohpet to the Jews with both warnings and promises. Finally he sent John to announce the coming of the Messiah. And then he sent his Son. So, what about us? Does he send us too? The answer is "yes." Jesus told us to proay for workers fo rthe harvest fields. The workers are us. Jesus said, "As the Father has sent me, I am sending you" (Jn 20:21). And he means all of us. ... What did Jesus mean by saying, "As the Father has sent me, I am sending you"? Certainly we are not sent as saviors. No, we are sent as servants. Jesus "did not come to be served, but to serve" (Mk 10:45). And, in the same way, he is sending us to serve. He is our example. After he had washed the disciples' feet, Jesus said to them, :I have set you an example..." (Jn 13:15).

...Why not just send money to support missionaries from th eThird World? They are a lot cheaper and usually more effective. True. Supporting a Third World missionary costs a fraction of what it costs to support a Western missionary, and the Third World Missionary is often (but by no means always) more effective in evangelism than his Western counterpart. But there are simply not ehough Third World missionaries to do the job alone - even given their increasing numbers. And there are many places Third World missionaries can't easily get to. Sending missionaries is the responsibility of the entire worldwide church: "All nations to all nations." Furthermore, if Western churches were to begin sending only checks, their vital commitment to missions would decrease. Our commitment will only be maintained by sending our own sons and daughters out as missionaries - and ourselves as well. God didn't send a check; he sent his son.

...It is God who opens doors. And he has opened more doors today than there are Christians ready to go through them.

-- Thomas Hale

You know... that whole sending a check idea...the Lord seems to have taught me that yesterday, as you can read in my previous blog. And that's such an important lesson. Money isn't a substitute for service. Money isn't a substitute for the true treasure that we can give to someone God is using us to minister to. Alongside it we can minister to them of the gifts God's given us to use. We can also just very practically give them a hand, which goes a long way. The Lord may not ever allow me to heal someone, but I can certainly carei for the sick when they're sick. I might not be able to put eyes in the heads of the blind as my Lord did because the Spirit doesn't need me to do that, but I can certainly show people the fruit of the Holy Spirit in Christian kindness, Christian love, Christian patience, any time of the day! And with these I'll offer myself to be used of the Lord in any capacity. Including Missions.