The current book that I am reading is called "Finish the Mission," by John Piper and Davis Mathis. I am going to quote it some, explain my thoughts, and then hope to hear your thoughts as well. Here goes!
Something that the first chapter the book says is this: "Psalm 40 says that he put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to my God, so that many- not merely one person in the course of a lifetime, but many- many would believe, putting their trust in the Lord. There is a ripple effect to the gospel that is inevitable. There is a ripple effect to true grace. It doesn't lead us to only sit and contemplate what happened to us. It leads us to proclaim what's happened to us- and what can happen to anybody and everybody on the planet."
My thoughts- missions is a wonderful thing. I think that we are to participate in missions when we believe in Jesus. He has redeemed and transformed us into his image, and we should want that for everyone else. God calls us to go. It whatever capacity you think that is, it should be to go. We are called to be missional where you are. Where you live and work. Which bring me to the next quote
"One way to sum it up is to say that we can't truly be missional without preserving a prominent place for the pursuit of the unreached."
Do you agree?
See, Jesus did die for our sins. He wants us to live out a life of radical obedience. Whether He calls you to live in China or in the suburbs of Houston, you are called.
I know that I have been guilty with complacency. (reading this book has made that clear, and I have only read the first chapter!) I have this since of longing for something more. Longing for more of who Jesus is and what his glorious plans are. Would I be more in tune with his perfect will if I was going forth and carrying out life in a "less traditional" life style? I am not sure that Jesus calls us to any sort of particular way of life. (monetarily speaking) But he does call us to go and make disciples. And it seems to me like we need to be going in some direction in order to make them, right?
So the question for me is, where do I go?
Any maybe, I shouldn't worry so much about the where. Listen to this:
"He will be with you. At the border of the 'closed' country, in the learning of an arduous language, and in the disorientation of a new culture, he will be with you...he will be with you...he will be with you."
Right. So, Jesus will be with me. I am going to need him to stay faithful to that promise, cause I tell you what, I won't be able to do it without him.
Am I called? Yes. Are you called? Yes. And guess what?
"Missions is about the worship of Jesus and the joy of all peoples."
Heck ya it is! Amen to that.
So, do you have any thoughts on the quotes above? (there were many more I wanted to add, but decided to spare you for the time being)
My overall non-profound thoughts are this: it's about to get real up in here. Like, Jesus, for real, I wanna know your heart. If if your heart is for missions, then I need to see it in action. Why should I let other things get in the way of his redemptive plan for humanity? I want to see the nations come to know and profess Jesus as King.
So, take all that for what it is. And let me know what you are gonna do with it :)
-Sincerely,
Kelsey
