Hello all!
I’m so happy you decided to take a few minutes to read the thoughts I’ve written down on a really important subject! Missions is something I’m super passionate about and I can’t wait to share with you that passion, and why I think foreign missions should matter to each and every one of us.
Why does foreign missions matter? It seems like a simple question, and I believe the answer is just as simple. Personally, I think there’s 3 reasons why missions is important and should matter to every single one of us.
Reason numero uno -
Eternal significance.
It was the great Maximus Decimus Meridius that once said, “what we do in life, echoes in eternity”. This is a great quote that actually rings with a lot of Biblical truth. Missions matters because the effort and work we put into going into all the earth and making disciples will change people’s eternities. Missions matters because one day we’ll all stand before Jesus and have to give an account of what we did, or did not do, in order to spread the gospel to those who have never heard. We have a responsibility to help change the eternity that most people face - one without God, spent in eternal torment because of that. I know this is a heavy truth, but it’s such an important one. This truth should be one of our guiding principles in what we do, and don’t do, with the precious Good News that we’ve been given. And this actually leads to my second point…
2. Responsibility
There was another great man who once said, “with great power comes great responsibility.” Again, a great quote that actually rings with a lot of Biblical truth. The entire thought of why missions matters kind of centers on this Bible verse, “...to whom much is given, from him much will be required…”(Luke 12:48). Here in America, we’ve been given everything. We have religious freedom, we have the ability to publicly proclaim our faith in a variety of ways, and we have crazy access to the Bible and Bible-based writings. God has given us the responsibility to share what we have with others who do not have the same access to these things. If we don’t - we’re being negligent and extremely self absorbed. We have resources people all over the world can only dream of having! We are called to share, and we have been given the power of responsibility to do all we can to share Jesus with the world.
And the final number -
3. Love
What do we have if we do not have love? This last reason is the driving force behind the first two. We, as Christians who know the eternal significance of missions and the responsibility we have towards furthering the Gospel, should be so hopelessly in love with Jesus and His power to change lives that serving or giving towards missions is a natural outpouring of our love. James tells us that faith without works is dead, and so too is love. True love demands action. Jesus was the perfect example of this through his sacrifice on the cross, and as His followers, we’re called to take up our own crosses and follow Him. We should love Christ so much that we also love the ones He came to save in foreign lands that have never heard of Him.
I know this a lot to think about. And a lot of it is heavy. But there’s so much riding on all of us truly believing that missions work is important! Millions of people need to hear the Truth, and if we will not tell them, who will? My hope and prayer for you this week is that God will impress upon your heart the amazing need we are called to fill. It’s such a big job, but we have an even bigger God who has told us that we are more than conquerors through Jesus Christ!
To the One who paid it all, all to Him we owe.
Thanks for reading!
Kelsey