The Christian Missionary
Great emphasis is placed on starving, hurting people in the world. It is not the hurting that should primarily occupy our thoughts rather, why are the people hurting? For the most part the suffering comes from a dearth of the “Word” of God in their lives. To the Christian the imperative is to become so conformed to the image of Christ the people they go among see Him (“Christ in you, the hope of glory”) not an American Christian Missionary. If you get the drift? It is not by might nor by power [the missionary succeeds] but by [the Spirit through the Word], says the Lord of hosts. (Zechariah 4: 6)
The great controlling factor in evangelism and/or missionary work is not the needs of people, but “seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matthew 6: 33),” “become a living sacrifice (Romans 12: 1) and “go.” Take these things out of order and “burn out” will result.
“You must be born again,” you must seek the leading of the Lord for a calling and once that has been certified… [Jesus] said unto them, Go… into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15).
The missionary is not going forth to save, heal and disciple he is going out where the Word has not been heard perhaps and live it in order to permit the Holy Spirit to work through him in His mediatorial work. The Word convicts, the Spirit draws and Jesus saves. Missionaries have lived faithfully on the “field” sometimes for years without ever seeing any fruit of their labor. Those who are faithful “shall have treasure in heaven“ (Mark 10: 21). The Christian who hopes to enter the mission field must be dedicated to Christ and the furtherance of the Gospel; It must be enough for him or her that the Lord is God and has promised their work will not be in vain.
An interesting study in missionary service is Gladys Aylward. She was turned down by all the missionary societies as unqualified for mission service. Her call and conviction was so strong she could not take no for an answer. She studied all the books about China she could lay her hands on in the libraries of her employers. From money she was able to save from her work as a parlormaid she paid her own way across Siberia to China to help Miss Jeannie Lawson a missionary in China searching for a younger woman to carry on her work Yangchen, Shansi province. Her story can be found online at http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bio/73.html.
The source of inspiration in mission service for God is behind us, not ahead of us “Christ died for the sins of the world.” His final words “it is finished” (John 19:30) signaled the completion of the defeat of the adversary of man; the inspiration of the work ahead. Love and justice of God met in Jesus on the cross in that instant of time.
The tendency today is to put the inspiration in front and sweep everything together in front of us and make it conform to a definition of success. But in the New Testament the inspiration is within us1 and is the Lord Jesus Himself in the person of the Holy Spirit.2 “I am the vine, you are the branches: He that abides in me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit: for without me you can do nothing” (John 15:5)
- “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).
- “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me” (John 12:32).
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