The ending of this mission trip has me reflecting on the center of Christianity. The gospel. The good news. The story that every Christian missionary for centuries has built his or her life on and spread around the globe. What does it mean? Why do we go to the most remote parts of this planet to share it? Is it really that important? Ultimately, Is it worth our lives and money and focus?
We are doomed. You could blame Adam or Eve, but whose fault it is makes no difference. The disobedience of man, the turning away from God has infected us all. One theologian said, “When Eve bit into the fruit, its juices ran down our lips.” This is where the gospel starts. Our fall. Our separation. Where we once were with God, we could be no longer. One wrong against an unlimited and good God warrants an unlimited punishment. This is where we sit. Hopeless. Tainted. Evil. Dead.
Hope found us. So, with a complete separation from God, what could we do to make it right? Maybe try to be good? Do more good than evil? Well, trying to be good, means that your core is not good and if your core is bad then that will need to be changed altogether, not just turned around. And no matter how much good you have done, whether it’s feed and play with orphans or give money to the church or obey your parents, it will never scratch out the wrong that you have done in your past. That is the ultimate goal. So, how do we wipe away this wrong? The only answer is something perfect has to cover us. It would take something different from us in character but similar to man. That’s where Jesus steps in.
Grace is offered. This man, Jesus, claimed to be from and of God and lived a perfect life. He was the perfect sacrifice. He taught and performed miracles on Earth and then was accused of heresy and sentenced to death. He died upon a cross outside of Jerusalem, claiming to take the sins of the world with Him. Admittedly, the gospel would be hard to believe at this point. But with his death on a Friday, his tomb was empty on a Sunday. He was alive again. He walked and talked with his disciples and several others. This is what makes the gospel believable. Only the Son of God could defeat death. And Christ offers to take our sins (a free gift), all we need to do is repent and have faith. This is good news! This is great news! We can be spotless again. Untainted. Reborn. Reunited. Living.
We are commissioned. Christ told his disciples before he left Earth for heaven to “go make disciples of all the nations.” That is our mission. We have an opportunity to share with the rest of the world that we were hopeless, but God came to save us. So, why do we travel to ends of the earth to tell this story? Is it really that important? If this story is true, if the Bible is true and if we believe it, then traveling to the ends of the Earth to make sure people hear it, is the only thing that matters. It is the only important objective of humankind. It is God’s story, and we get to be bearers of the greatest news.
What more could we possibly want than to spread this message? Having a large house or a nice car or an immense bank account just does not match up to living a life working with God to spread a message from God. Putting our life into things that will mean nothing at our unexpected death is the most foolish idea that Satan has used to deceive the world.
If Christ is the only way to heaven, and we have the answer to save people headed on a road of eternal destruction, then getting the gospel out to the ends of the earth is worth all of our devoted lives, our copious amounts of money, and our constant focus. It is worth everything.
Endnote:
I must say as I reread this blog before posting it, that I always worry when scripture is not mentioned or referenced in these types of posts. However, for the sake of an uninterrupted story, I have left them out of the main paragraphs. I have also not mentioned several other details such as Heaven, Hell, and the Holy Spirit. I do believe they are all important subjects, but unnecessary to the purpose of this blog. Here are my Scripture references: (Genesis 1-Revelation 22). Thank you for reading and following these blogs. I will be back in the United States on November 25th. If you want to have a meeting for coffee or dinner and a sharing of my stories, just email me. My email is [email protected]
May God Be Glorified.
