Missions

In discussing outreach it is easy to skip over missions as obvious. But it is easy sometimes to take the familiar for granted. We can feel it has always been there and will always be there and we do not need to put any special effort into it. For evangelical Christians, missions can be one of those things. We have heard the commandments to take the gospel to all nations (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8; Luke 24:46,47). We have attended missionary conferences, heard missionary speakers, and listened to missionary appeals until maybe we are a bit tired of it. Maybe we give a little when we are in the mood or when we hear a particularly good appeal, or somewhat regularly just to salve our conscience, but we do not take the whole thing too seriously. I can sympathize with this feeling because I am in danger of doing the same thing myself. I do not know of a simple cure for this mindset, but I would like to offer some considerations to put this in perspective.   

We are to be imitators of Christ in how we approach life (Philippians 2:5-11; Ephesians 5:1,2; Romans 8:29,30). If Christ was willing to make so great a sacrifice that we can come to God (Romans 5:6-8; 1 Peter 2:24,25; Colossians 2:13-15), should we not be willing to put in a special effort that others may hear (Colossians 1:28,29; 2 Timothy 2:10; 2 Corinthians 5:14,15)? Further, if it is Christ’s purpose that those who have not heard should hear, should we not desire to be part of that (Romans 9:25;26; Ephesians 2:15-19; 2 Corinthians 5:20)? Also, there were those who put in a special effort that we might have the Gospel. So given the need, we should be concerned to help bring the Gospel to others.

I am not trying to lay a guilt trip on anyone. (Guilt trips are not helpful: the scenery is awful, the food is bad, and the main thing it motivates us to do is not to go there again.) But I am calling each of us to consider, have I taken missions for granted? Have I left it on the back burner when it should be a more important part of my life? I am not about to dictate what you should do for missions or to claim that I know what you do is not enough. But I would urge you to turn to God and ask Him the question whether you are really doing what you should be doing. Are there things you could and should give up and use the money, time, and effort to help reach people for Christ? When I point this out, I realize there are three fingers pointing back at me. But I cannot ignore the fact that there is a Scriptural demand here that needs to be met. And if we do not do it, who will?

A Touch of Humor - Evaluation

Should we be part of a church in order to help change it? If so, are there limits?

Old Erich Proverb - Thwart

To believe we are smart enough to predict Christ's coming is to presume we are smart enough to thwart God's purpose.

A Voice from the Past - Chesterton

Whatever the reason, it seemed and still seems to me that our attitude towards life can be better expressed in terms of a kind of military loyalty than in terms of criticism and approval. My acceptance of the universe is not optimism, it is more like patriotism. It is a matter of primary loyalty. The world is not a lodging-house at Brighton, which we are to leave because it is miserable. It is the fortress of our family, with the flag flying on the turret, and the the more miserable it is the less we should leave it. The point is not that the world is too sad to love or too glad not to love; the point is that when you do love a thing, its gladness is a reason for loving it, and its sadness a reason for loving it more.

G. K. Chesterton, 1874-1936, Orthodoxy, The Flag of the World, (Doubleday, 1959, pp. 85, 86).

Does Chesterton's idea of cosmic patriotism make sense? Can it be applied to other entities, like a nation or a church?

Childern of God

It is unfortunate that the idea that God is our Father has become a cliché. It has been watered down to a vague, sentimental idea that we are all God’s children and should act like it. This is not the Biblical idea, and it takes the punch out of a highly shocking concept. The idea of God for many faiths is that of a high and holy God who is harsh and unapproachable. And Biblically there is an element of truth in this. God does require moral perfection (Isaiah 6:1-5; 1 Peter 1:14-17; Matthew 5:48). But we are sinners and unable to live up to this standard (Romans 3:23; Jeremiah 17:9; Isaiah 64:6). This is the point of the gospel, that a holy God could take condemned rebels hostile to Him and make them into His children. This should not be watered down into a vague indulgence which would not dream of criticizing us for anything we do.  But rather, it is God reaching across the divide between us to make a way for us to come to Him.

Christ on the cross paid the price for all our sin (1 Peter 1:18; Colossians 2:13,14; 2 Corinthians 5:21) and offers forgiveness based on faith in Him (Romans 4:4-8; Ephesians 2:8,9; Philippians 3:9). The result of this is that we become God’s children (John 1:12,13; Ephesians 1:5; 1 Peter 1:23). This is not something that is true of everyone or that can simply be taken for granted (John 8:42-44; 1 John 3:10; 5:4,5). Rather, it is the description of those who have been reconciled to God through Christ.

This results in a new relationship, one not of a servant but a child (Galatians 4:4-6; Romans 8:15; John 8:32-36). And if a child, then an heir of the riches of God (Galatians 4:7; Romans 8:16,17; Titus 3:7). And if God loved us enough to send Christ to die for us when we were His enemies (Romans 5:6-8; John 3:16-18; 1 John 4:9,10), how much more will He love us now that we are His children (Romans 5:9,10; 8:31-39; John 15:15). Therefore, we can face life knowing we have a Heavenly Father who cares for us (Matthew 6:9-13; 7:7-11; Luke 18:6,7). Now this should affect the way we live, because as God’s children, we are being transformed into the image of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18; Romans 8:29-30; 1 John 3:2). If then we are children of God, other believers are part of our family, and we need to love them (1 John 3:14-18; 4:20,21; 1 Peter 1:22). For being a child of God is not a vague truism, but a transforming reality for those who put their faith in Christ.   

Breaking Out of the Bubble

You sometimes read of people who have so many and such serious allergies that they have to live in a bubble in order to survive. Sometimes we in modern western culture end up putting a bubble around ourselves, not physically but emotionally, to protect ourselves from being hurt. How can we break out of the bubble and achieve real community? In this, I am a bad one to talk. Growing up, I was always the kid curled up in the corner with a book rather than going out to play with other kids. Now I’m sitting in front of a computer writing a blog. But let’s look at what Scripture has to say on the subject. 

I am convinced that the best way to bring about a change in behavior is to start with a change of mindset (Romans 12:1, 2). In this, I believe that the first thing we need to recognize is that believers are all part of the same body (Romans 12:4, 5; 1 Corinthians 12:12-24). We are to see ourselves, not as independent, self-sufficient individuals but as those who are part of a larger whole, who are to build each other up (Ephesians 4:15, 16), grow up together in Christ (Colossians 2:19), and sympathize with each other’s joy and sorrows (1 Corinthians 12:25, 26). Therefore, if we see ourselves as part of a vast organism that not only goes beyond ourselves but even beyond our congregation and transcends time and space, we are less likely to hide in our own little world.

Also, not only are we a body, but we are an army to fight evil and accomplish God’s purposes in the world (2 Corinthians 10:3-6; Ephesians 6:10-13). This is important because, if we just focus on our own community without a higher purpose, we can become self-serving, looking primarily to have our own needs met. We are the servants of the true King (Philippians 2:9-11), and it is our job to work together to oppose the usurper (2 Corinthians 4:4) until the true King returns in power (2 Peter 3:10-12). As such, we are not to see ourselves as those who should live our own lives our own way, but as those who should be fighting together for a higher cause. And our community should arise out of that.

I am not saying we should not take action and that if we just sit around and meditate on the body of Christ, everything will just happen automatically. Be I have found that action without the right mindset soon dwindles away. And God has not left us to accomplish this alone but has sent His Spirit to work within us (2 Corinthians 3:18; Philippians 2:13) that we might trust in Him to overcome our fears (Which of us has never been hurt before?) and to create the community God wants us to have. And that we may grow toward being of one mind (Acts 2:46) and one heart and soul (Acts 4:32), that we may have the unity God requires us to have (Philippians 2:1, 2).