Of all the beauty in the world, one of the most beautiful aspects my eyes have seen is the beauty of Jesus followers around the world. With deep devotion, risking everything, even their very lives here on Earth, for the sake of the gospel. To love their neighbors and risk it all for them to know Jesus. To fight the odds in order to have a relationship with The God who fought so mightily to reach them.
Worke, a beautiful Ethiopian woman, grew up in a small village in the country side. At the age of thirteen, Worke welcomed Jesus into her heart. With persecution on the rise, Worke was taken from her home at her young age and placed in prison for following Jesus. Each day, the persecutors would command her to stop sharing about and following Jesus at gun point. Worke, full of the Holy Spirit, boldly shared that she would never stop.
Our dear friends, a beautiful Indian family, live in a village area near Hyderabad, India. This area heavily persecutes Christians. Each day, this family plants churches in homes around the villages, cares for the children, welcomes missionaries to partner with them secretly, and shares the gospel. This family’s father has been tied to a tree, beaten, and persecuted severely. With God’s strength, this family continues to share the good news with their Hindu brothers and sisters.
In Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, a faithful Vietnamese family with two children care for the babies and teach the children and teenagers English while sharing the gospel. In Vietnam, it is illegal to share the gospel and those who are found will be placed in prison. This family shares the gospel, attend an underground church, and secretly welcome missionaries to partner with them. While being watched and visited by the police, this family faithfully and courageously continue loving and sharing.
In my heart, I always had a deep fear that I would be harmed or persecuted on the mission field. God has been revealing that this fear is a fear that I need not to carry. A fear that I need not to fear at all. In fact, it is a command that I do not fear persecution and death. Though, my heart races at the thought of it and this fear will not always go away, I am called to walk into this fear and follow Jesus at any cost.
“Paul’s whole purpose in life was to speak out boldly for Christ and become more like him. Thus, Paul could confidently say that dying was even better than living, because in death he would see Christ face to face. If you are not ready to die, then you are not ready to live. Make certain of your eternal destiny; then you will be free to serve-devoting your life to what really counts, without fear of death.”
Radical written by David Platt says, “I want to know him. I want to experience him. I want to be part of a people in Underground Asia who have nothing but him. And I want to be part of a people who are risking it all for him. For the sake of more than a billion people today who have yet to even hear the gospel, I want to risk it all. For the sake of twenty-six thousand children who will die today of starvation or a preventable disease, I want to risk it all.”
How worth it, it is.
How worth it, is He.
How worth it, are our brothers and sisters around the world.
God has been teaching me that to risk it all, to love our neighbors, to share the good news with the unreached is not only an option. It is a command. It is a requirement of following Jesus.
It is a beautiful blessing too!
“Late in the afternoon the twelve disciples came to him and said, ‘Send the crowds away to the nearby villages and farms, so that they can find food and lodging for the night. There is nothing to eat here in this remote place.'”
But Jesus said, “You feed them.”
“But we have only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered. “Or are you expecting us to go and buy food for this whole crowd?”
For there were about 5,000 men there.
Jesus replied,”Tell them to sit down in groups of about fifty each.”
So the people all sat down. Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he kept giving the bread and fish to the disciples so they could distribute it to the people. They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftovers!”
“You feed them.” Jesus says.
Then, He blessed it and provided a miracle!
“Jesus came and told his disciples, ‘I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.'”
God is by our side, walking us by hand through each fear, caring for our hearts, and commanding us to go with Him where He leads whether at home or across the seas. With our Father, let’s love, share, go, and be ready to live.
