"Missions is not enough"
And thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else's foundation, but as it is written, "Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand." (Romans 15:20, 21 ESV)
It's not enough for us to be engaged in missions. It's not enough for us to go on mission trips. It's not enough that we take international mission trips. God's call on our lives is not an either/or calling. It's nit either local or international. It's both/and. We are not called to "do missions." We are called to BE missionaries. There is a huge difference.
Doing missions means that we can be completely happy with mission trips. We can be happy with seeing mission as a trip. It's a pause from our everyday lives to do missions.
Being a missionary is an identity. It's everyday life. We don't pause for mission, mission is life. Mission is Christianity. And being a missionary means going to the ends of the earth. Being a missionary means engaging the least reached.
Doing missions says, "As long as we are taking trips, we are fulfilling the great commission." Being a missionary says, "We are fulfilling the great commission when every believer is being a missionary across the street AND around the word." If we don't have a heart for unreached peoples, then we aren't doing missions.
Paul teaches this in Romans 15. "And thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named." Paul's ambition was to go to the least reached. He saw the need for all nations to hear the gospel & he refused to go where Jesus had already been named.
And this doesn't stop with Paul. I believe this is God's heart for his church. We are missionaries to the least reached & to our neighbors. To the unknown, unengaged, unreached people groups & to our well known lost friends. This is missions. And this is the church's identity.
No comments:
Post a Comment