Living on Mission ... No Passport Required
And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” -- Matthew 28:18-20
There was a man, an elder in the church, who had never traveled much beyond the small community where he lived. Age made him move slowly. He’d never flown in an airplane and certainly never visited a foreign country. Everyone was surprised when he signed-up to be a part of the church mission trip to Honduras.
The time spent praying for him and for God to alleviate his fears and meet his needs was well rewarded upon witnessing his return. He declared it to be one of the most powerful and enriching experiences of his life. The joy he brought back was contagious.
For most of us, hearing the word mission brings to mind passports, immunization, and interpreters. We have re-interpreted Jesus’ command to go therefore to all the nations to mean all the nations but the one where we live. Places that aren’t our homes, communities, places of work or school, the places where we shop and eat and pay our electric bills.
We miss so many opportunities to fulfill Jesus’ commands—The Great Commission—when we think that if it doesn’t require standing in airport security lines, then we aren’t engaged in mission.
When Jesus told His disciples to, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations …” He didn’t add “except the one where you live.”
There is nothing wrong with traveling to bring the Gospel to foreign places. There is something wrong with thinking we have no duty to the mission of making disciples unless we leave home.
If we can’t—or simply don’t bother—to share the Gospel in our everyday life, going on an overseas mission trip won’t earn us extra credit to make up for it.
After Stephen was martyred in Jerusalem, Acts 8:1 says, “At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.”
After having received The Great Commission directly from Jesus, the apostles didn’t immediately pack up their tunics and brush-up on their Greek language skills. They went to Jerusalem.
When the persecution began, the disciples scattered. The apostles did not. Though they did all eventually go on to spread the Gospel in other places, they knew there was important work to be done at home first, without which we might not have the Church today.
The thing about the man from church is that he has already been faithfully and consistently sharing the Gospel in his community. He has embraced his commissioning to be the hands and feet of Christ right where God has placed him, ready in season and out. He didn’t stop once he returned home as though he’d checked off the ‘Go therefore box’ on the heavenly admission checklist.
Perhaps, instead of thinking that the command to go therefore and make disciples of all the nations is something we go somewhere else to do, we should remember that “all nations” includes the place where we are called to live and work. If we can’t do it here first, we’ll never do it well anywhere else.
For the follower of Jesus Christ, this means living on mission.
Questions for Reflection:
1. What images and words come to mind when you hear the word mission? Are these based on facts or feelings?
2. How can we better understand the meaning and purpose of our mission to share the Gospel?
3. Where in the places where you live and work is there an unmet need for someone to be the hands and feet of Christ?
4. What will it cost you to meet that need? What might it cost you if you don’t?
