1. Is there a fail safe for this trigger [sin]?
Do you every feel like you have not done well, even failed? We are human. In life we sin, we get knocked down. Our sin gets in the way, but we ask God for forgiveness then press on. Sin is a failure in a sense, but that’s not all I am talking about here.
We are tested in order to prove our faith, so what if we fail the test? What if we are unfaithful? That would be sin as well, but somehow it seems like there could be something different about this.
Lately, my life has been like both: not only have I not done well, but I feel like I have flat out failed. Not just messing up here and there, but failing the tests of faith. Falling very hard, very fast. Missionary fail. I feel like I have failed as a missionary.
But what are the standards for passing or failing? How many times do you have to make mistakes before you just flat out fail? Is there even such a thing as failing? I guess you could say we all fail at times, but is there one “big failure” that crosses the line? No matter what God forgives us if we ask for it and believe that Christ has taken our sin on his shoulders. So maybe we all have failed… If so, then can I fail at being a missionary?
2. How do we even know if we are a missionary?
Traditionally, the word missionary more or less refers to a Christian going overseas to share the Gospel with unreached people groups. The root word of missionary is mission, and we all have been given a mission [the Great Commision]. The root word of commission is also mission. So we, as Christians, are the missionaries that have been given a mission, and the mission we have been given is the Great Commission. [I’m really not trying to be funny, I promise] Now, we find the Great Commission to be:
The Bible also says:
Jerusalem was the city in which they were when Christ said these words. Judea was the region/state that Jerusalem was a part of, and Samaria was a nearby region/state. Applying that to us, we can say that we are supposed to spread the Gospel in our own cities, nearby regions/states, and to all nations on earth. If we think of it this way then we can conclude that all Christians are missionaries, whether they are in their hometown or a foreign country.
This reminds me of a song by Steven Curtis Chapman that says:
Maybe you're that guy with the suit and tie
Maybe your shirt says your name
You may be hooking up mergers
Cooking up burgers
But at the end of the day
Little stuff, big stuff, in between stuff
God sees it all the same
While I may not know you
I bet I know you
Wonder sometimes, does it matter at all?
Well let me remind you, it all matters just as long
As you do everything you do to the glory of the One who made you,
Cause he made you to do
Every little thing that you do
To bring a smile to His face
Tell the story of grace
With every move that you make
And everything you do
Maybe you're sitting in math class
Or maybe on a mission in the Congo
Or maybe you're working at the office
Singing along with the radio
Maybe you're dining at a 5-star
Or feeding orphans in the Myanmar
Anywhere and everywhere that you are
Whatever you do, it all matters
So do what you do, don't ever forget
To do everything you do to the glory of the One who made you,
Cause He made you to do
Every little thing that you do
To bring a smile to His face
And tell the story of grace
3. But really the point is, can we fail as missionaries?
I have been asking myself this lately. We (well, really I, in the above discussion) have come to somewhat of a conclusion that we are all, more or less, failures because of sin. We are also all missionaries.
SO, does that mean that we are all missionary failures? I wouldn’t say it quite like that… We are imperfect missionaries under God’s grace. We are human – and God knew that before he gave us the Holy Spirit and the instruction to spread the Gospel – and make mistakes. There is no way we can live up to God’s standards. This is the whole reason why Christ came to earth and paid the price for our sins, stood in our place. We are covered by his grace.
I realize that I am not the one who can pull me up; I cannot do it. It is God who will do it in me. How do I let him? How do I stop thinking I am a missionary failure…?
[I could go on and this discussion could go in all sorts of directions, but those are the general thoughts I have for now. Maybe you disagree. Let me know. Remember, I’m not perfect and I don’t know everything!]
