I have come up against a paradox in
the last nine months of being back in America, the idea that I am “off the
mission field.� The idea that
because I am not feeding the orphans, taking care of the widows, and reaching
the “least of these� with the gospel, I am no longer doing ministry. The idea that my life on the race has
not and cannot be somehow transferred back to a culture of abundance and
wealth. The more I live my life in
America, the more I see what a lie that is. Its startling to see how Satan would love for us to think
that because we are not overseas or in a 3rd world country, we are
not missionaries. Or even scarier,
the idea that not everyone who believes in Christ bears the responsibility and
privilege to serve others and make God’s glory known on this earth in their
everyday, regular, ordinary lives.
This, at its core, is an issue of
identity. Do we believe the word
to the point that it has infiltrated every aspect of our lives? Have we put on
our new self and are we walking in accordance to the things that God calls us
to and tells us we are? The word calls us ministers of reconciliation, meaning
we are reconciling the world and those in it back to God. We are Christ’s letter of
recommendation to the world that is perishing. We are given authority on this earth to bring His kingdom
here. After all, the Kingdom of
God is within us. We are salt and
light. We can do immeasurably more
through the power that is within us (the Holy Spirit) than the one that is in
the world (Satan). So then why is
it that we think we have to go overseas to make a difference? Last time I checked, God loves all His
children, which means the well fed and taken care of little boy in America AND
the starving child in Somalia. Regardless of their economic status, they both
need the same thing. They both
need Christ.
All year long on the race I was
passionate about sharing that we serve and love because we bear the name of
Christ. It is WHO WE ARE and not
what we do. But I will be brutally
honest, doing those things are a lot easier when you are holding an AIDS orphan
or praying for a woman who has been sold into sexual slavery. What about the woman who is in the
bondage of finding her worth in materialism and her appearance? What about the college student who thinks
taking drunk girls home from a bar means he is a man? What about the picture perfect family that seems to have it
all together, but is missing the one thing that brings significance to this
life, Christ? What about the believer (yes, I said it) who is addicted to porn
or alcohol or any other thing that stands against the glory of God?
My
fear is this: that we have traded the glory of God and honor of bearing His
name for trendy surface level passion about humanitarian and justice
issues. Think about it, if we
truly cared about people knowing Christ, our everyday lives would look
different. We wouldn’t just reach
out to the poor, homeless, addicted, and foreign destitute. We would also be Christ to our
neighbors, co-workers, and friends
Have we forsaken the gift of
bringing hope to ALL people for the flashy projects serving those we consider
to be “less than� or in need? Do
we truly care about ALL people or just the ones that make us look good in the
eyes of the world? Or taking it
another step, why are we looking for recognition at all, when our goal should
be for others to fix their eyes on the Lord and Him alone.
Don’t
get me wrong, we are called to go to the nations. We are called to care for the orphans and widows. If there is an injustice in the world,
we are called to do something about it if we able to do so. The word is very clear about that. I
just hope that our life FOLLOWING CHRIST is not a switch that can be turned on
and off. IT IS WHO WE ARE, every
moment, every day. I wish I could
say that I live each moment as if I am on the mission field, that I don’t let
opportunities to share beauty of the Gospel pass me by. I wish I could tell you that I am so
full of the Holy Spirit that His presence and word just bursts out of me. I wish I could say I resemble Christ
more than I resemble my flesh. The truth is I struggle. The truth is I’m broken. The truth is I’m not perfect, which is
why I am fully dependant on Christ. There are times that I choose to have a bad
attitude, that I don’t walk in victory, and I forget that I represent Him at all
times. I have to remind myself
that the spirit of the living God dwells within me, that my purpose on this
earth is to bring glory to Him.
Moment by moment, I get to put in my new self and fix my eyes on Him.
I desperately depend on the Lord to do work in me so I can radiate Him.
Where do you fix your eyes? If you are Christ’s letter of recommendation,
what does it say? My prayer is that you radiate Him right now, today, exactly
where God has placed you to be….
