Are We Practicing Missional Living?
Recently I was asked why I am so
concerned with missions. My short
answer was, “That’s where the lost
people are.” At the time, it did not
occur to me to elaborate more, because if you want to know the truth,
looking for the lost and figuring out
ways to go there is just how my mind
is wired. This concept of missions is
so wired into my thinking that often I
forget, that for most Christians, missions is a program. It stands up there
with Vacation Bible School or a couple of annual offerings taken to send
to the missionaries, either foreign or
at home. (For us Southern Baptists,
one is called Lottie Moon - received
for International Missions at Christmastime, and the other is Annie Armstrong - which is being received right
now for North American mission efforts.)
I've discovered that there is no real Christian who would deny the importance of missions. “Go and teach, baptizing in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit” is a commandment probably memorized shortly after John 3:16. Therefore all of us, who know Jesus, know deep down that He commanded missions. You can read that during the early portion of His earthly ministry, Jesus spoke very little concerning missions, but during the final portion - the period between his resurrection and ascension - He spoke of little else. There were hundreds of matters that Jesus and His disciples could have discussed during the final forty days, but Christ’s mind was filled with encouraging us to take the good news everywhere. What does that mean though? How do we make that commandment come alive in our day-to-day lives? I think to many of us it is all just so confusing. Honestly, I think the kind of church we have built in our culture even helps to obscure the meaning of Jesus’ commandment somewhat. You see, we get very concerned with budgets, and I know that budgets are important. The power bill does come due - monthly. We get concerned with attendance numbers, and numbers are important also, because the fourth book of the Bible is called Numbers. (A lame preacher's joke by the way.) We get concerned with all sorts of “churchy activities” so much so that our calendars and agendas are completely filled with studying for a lesson we are going to teach, attending choir practice, playing on the church softball team, or going to this committee meeting or that one. The church and all that goes with being a church builds us a little fortress where we can come and be comfortable, and we come often! Our friends go to church with us. We raise our kids and grandkids here. Our free time is spent taking care of all things church and going to its activities, so we get caught up in very busy and very fulfilling lives. I think then that maybe we turn inward a little bit too much. You see, when all your friends and relatives know Jesus, it is hard to see the thousands around you who do not know Him, so it is quite understandable that we are confused about what Jesus’ command really means to our lives and how we live our lives under that command.
I've discovered that there is no real Christian who would deny the importance of missions. “Go and teach, baptizing in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit” is a commandment probably memorized shortly after John 3:16. Therefore all of us, who know Jesus, know deep down that He commanded missions. You can read that during the early portion of His earthly ministry, Jesus spoke very little concerning missions, but during the final portion - the period between his resurrection and ascension - He spoke of little else. There were hundreds of matters that Jesus and His disciples could have discussed during the final forty days, but Christ’s mind was filled with encouraging us to take the good news everywhere. What does that mean though? How do we make that commandment come alive in our day-to-day lives? I think to many of us it is all just so confusing. Honestly, I think the kind of church we have built in our culture even helps to obscure the meaning of Jesus’ commandment somewhat. You see, we get very concerned with budgets, and I know that budgets are important. The power bill does come due - monthly. We get concerned with attendance numbers, and numbers are important also, because the fourth book of the Bible is called Numbers. (A lame preacher's joke by the way.) We get concerned with all sorts of “churchy activities” so much so that our calendars and agendas are completely filled with studying for a lesson we are going to teach, attending choir practice, playing on the church softball team, or going to this committee meeting or that one. The church and all that goes with being a church builds us a little fortress where we can come and be comfortable, and we come often! Our friends go to church with us. We raise our kids and grandkids here. Our free time is spent taking care of all things church and going to its activities, so we get caught up in very busy and very fulfilling lives. I think then that maybe we turn inward a little bit too much. You see, when all your friends and relatives know Jesus, it is hard to see the thousands around you who do not know Him, so it is quite understandable that we are confused about what Jesus’ command really means to our lives and how we live our lives under that command.
The only way I know to have Jesus’
command come alive in our hearts is
to first seriously pray for the eyes of
Jesus. Pray that God would take away
all the things that assault our senses
and allow us to focus upon the condition of their souls. Ask Him to help us
not see “worldly needs.” The size of a
person’s wallet has nothing to do with
whether or not they will go to heaven
or hell. Ask Him to help us not see
their level of education, because a few
degrees behind someone’s name has
never meant they were going to heaven. Nor does the
lack of the ability to read or write
mean that one is bound for hell. Ask
Him to help us to look past the color
of their skin or the accent upon their
tongues. Secondly, stop wherever you are
and look around. Look into people’s eyes. Smile at them. When
you do, God will show you lostness. Then you will see the reality that
everyone has sinned and fallen
short of the glory of God. This reality means everyone is bound for an
eternity spent without the presence
of Jesus in a place called Hell unless they call upon Jesus' name, ask for forgiveness and accept it. This
means to you and me that, while walking
down the street, almost everyone
we see will spend eternity in a place without hope. This means where you work or
where you go to school, the vast
majority of those you know will
spend eternity in Hell. When God shows you this lostness in your heart it will break. Your heart will break. It's then that you will weep in
your car, and it is then that His commandment will come alive within your
heart. When that happens you will automatically
pray, “God what can I do? Tell me
Jesus, what can I do?” I promise
you, He will answer, and when He
does, and we accept His answer, it
guides what we do, how we do it,
and how we think. By the way the
term for this is called “missional
living.” This, my friend, is the better answer to why I am so concerned
with missions. You see I have prayed that
prayer. I continue praying that
prayer, and as a result I am always trying to watch, and every day God continues to show me that the
lost really are out there. I guess I need to be perfectly honest though. Sometimes, quite often, I fail at
missional living. I suppose there are a thousand and one reasons why I fail, but the bottom line is always - my selfishness - my
sin. You see, when we neglect the
daily opportunities to share the
truth about Jesus for fear of rejection, punishment, looking foolish
or any other number of reasons, we
are not living missional. We are
more concerned with self than with
others. What possibly could be
more important than the condition
of someone’s soul?
