Why do people become missionaries? What makes people like the Tibbetts go to Thailand to live and share the gospel? Why does Amber want to go to Nicaragua to serve and share the gospel? Why do you want to share the gospel with the lost around you? Why do we care so much about missions and evangelism? What should drive us? A love for the lost? Yes…but not primarily. What did Jesus say were the two top commandments? Love God first, love others second. (see Matt. 22:37-38) This is true of missions as well.
Our number one reason and driving force behind missions should be our longing to see God receive Glory from all the peoples of the world. We know Him and have a relationship with Him through Jesus Christ. We have His Word and can commune with Him in prayer. We have the Holy Spirit inside of us to lead, comfort, and convict. And as Christians we should long to see others know Him because He is great and glorious and there is no better gift than to know Him. God is more than just the way to salvation. He is the gospel. John Piper’s latest book (God Is The Gospel) studies this very fact. God IS the good news. In the 19th century, Charles Spurgeon said essentially the same thing. “Our faith is a Person. And the gospel we preach is a Person.” (found in The Full Harvest, By C.H. Spurgeon, p.123). Of course He is more than a Person like us, He is God in the flesh. He is our greatest treasure. And He is the number one reason why we should have a zeal for world missions.
A desire to see God glorified is our foundation for missions. Built upon that foundation is a yearning and love for the lost peoples of the world. Why do we care if they are saved? Aren’t they sinners who deserve Hell? Yes. But so were YOU once. Christians should take time to ponder their life before Christ. If you got saved later in life then you can remember what it was like to live in the darkness…and even sadder, to love the darkness. (see John 3:19) You can remember the spiritual slavery (Titus 3:3) you lived in. And you can remember the grace of God that interrupted your depravity, opened your spiritual eyes (2 Cor. 4:3-4), gave you a new spiritual birth (John 3:3), and changed your life forever. If you can remember that happening in your life, then you should long to see others experience the same thing.
Perhaps you were saved young and can’t even remember a time in which you didn’t have a love for Christ. If so, then you have experienced a tremendous grace. Why did God save you so young? Why did he spare you all those years in the darkness? Maybe you think its because you were raised in church. While that is very important, we must remember that Hell is running over with people who were “raised in church.” A background in church doesn’t guarantee salvation. People saved young are no different than people saved old. You were saved by grace, through faith and this not of yourselves. It’s a gift of God so no one can brag about it. (see Ephesians 2:8-9)
We should love God more than anything and long to see Him glorified by all the nations of the world. Out of our love for Him should flow a love for the lost. We should approach world missions with an attitude of humility and confidence. We are humble, knowing that we were only saved by God’s overwhelming grace and that others will only be saved the same way. No one deserves salvation, yet God grants it to some. We approach world missions with confidence because God has promised to save some from every tongue, tribe, and nation (Rev. 5:9). This is not up in the air. This is a genuine promise from the God who saves. Our job is to go and tell them the good news. God doesn’t need us. He could send an angel to proclaim the gospel to the nations. In fact if He wanted He could have the “stones cry out” the gospel (Luke 19:40). But He has chosen to use people. He has chosen to use you. We have the honor of participating in the advancement of His Kingdom around the world. Some go overseas and share. Some stay at home and support them. God calls us all to be involved in world missions in some way, and the obedient Christian will answer that call. Go, Send, Support, Pray, Witness. We are all “Called.” What specifically is He calling you to do? Will you answer that call for the sake of His Glory and the sake of the lost peoples of the world?
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