As Americans we like to stay in our comfort zone. It is easy enough to post a verse every now and then on our Instagram, thinking that we met our “Christian quota” for the week or month or whatever seems right to us. But that is not enough, and that is not what God has called us to do. He has called us to boldly (pun) carry His Gospel into every community, neighborhood, profession, and nation. Now this does not mean everyone needs to up and go to the deepest most remote part of the Amazon. Some people stay, and God uses that. Some people go, God uses that too.
I have heard many stories of families of missionaries being upset with them for going. Asking questions like “why would you take our grandkids away from us” or “how could you put your family through something like that”. It seems as though for the most part that we know what the cost of going is. Missing precious time with family, not having the safety or freedom that America provides, not being able to provide adequate schooling or environments for your children. There are always going to be reasons not to do something, and there is always going to be a price to pay for whatever choices you make. But what are the consequences of not going when you are called?
I think I mentioned in the about section of this page that my Mom was a missionary kid in Papua New Guinea. She grew up in boarding schools while her parents ministered at the remote villages in the Highlands. She came back to the states to go to college with the goal of herself becoming a missionary. Long story short, she didn’t go. She chose to marry my father and raise me and my two other siblings in the U.S.. She carried the burden of her choice for a long time (she absolutely does not regret having us kids and marrying my dad). Feeling like you turned your back on God’s calling for your life can be pretty hard. Through grace and mercy she came to realize that this was not a burden for her to bear, that God doesn’t just have a plan A for us. He delights in showing mercy and he uses our choices and our short comings and works them out to glorify His kingdom. How awesome is that? It is absolutely mind blowing.
My mom spoke at church one day regarding the grace the God has showed her, and how both me and my brother are pursuing a career in overseas ministry. She felt that the Lord had given her the opportunity to raise us to go do what she did not. While I was talking to her about this about a year later, I was seeking her wisdom on whether or not I should actually go on the World Race or even continue to prepare to be a missionary at all. She looked at me and said, “while most people know the cost of going, I have raised you to know the cost of not going”.
I don’t know about you but that hit me hard. I have been blessed to be able to experience and know the consequences for both sides. This past spring/ summer was a rough time for me. I had recently been in Southeast Asia, and coming back the Lord asked me to give up missions to Him. I thought he was asking me to stay in the U.S. and it was hard. I eventually really did give it to him and began to try to come to terms with the fact that I might stay in America. Missions had become sort of and idol for me and I did not want that in the way of my relationship with God. After I really gave it up and became some what okay with staying I felt a shift in my heart. It was a new perspective on ministry and God’s heart for the nations. I no longer really cared about going, I cared about spreading the good news of the Gospel and really, really loving people. Wherever laborers are needed thats where I want to be, and then this happened. I get to go.
Going on the World Race isn’t a sight seeing trip, its not a status making me cool, its not about me at all. It is about loving God’s people and sharing with them the best news anyone could ever share. It is about being graciously chosen to be a part of something bigger than anyone or anything. Its about Jesus and His glory and healing power. About Him giving us His Spirit, the same Spirit that defeated death. The same Spirit that has given new life.
