What Is a Missionary, Anyway?

"The moment you are converted to Jesus, you are sent out into mission. You’re either a missionary or a mission field. There is no third option."

I've really been mulling this quote from J.D. Greer over ever since I saw it on a friend's Facebook post. I sincerely believe it to be true, though it's a hard one for Christians to reconcile in our own thinking and to live out in our daily lives.  I suppose it's easier to think in softer terms, like  "being a light," or "being the salt." But, the fact is, while those things are true, their very softness implies a neutrality of sorts, as if simply living our Christian lives without any intentionality toward missions is enough.

Somehow I think we forget that Jesus said, "GO into all the world and PREACH the gospel... (Mark 16:15)." Notice - He didn't say, "Just BE."

Yes, we are called to BE Christians and Christ-like. Yes, we are called to BE believers, and faithful, and sanctified, and righteous, and light, and salt, and, and, and... But, 'be' is a verb that shows a state of existence. It's not an action verb, like GO and PREACH.  I propose that BEING all of those things is very, very imporant, but they're important for us. They're important for our relationship with Jesus. They're important for our eternities. Unfortunately, they're not necessarily going to help anyone else, though.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that our faithful lives and fervent love for Jesus aren't important examples that can draw people to us, set us apart, and showcase us as different. In fact, they should be. They must be! If our lives aren't different enough from everyone else's that it's obvious that our citizenship is somewhere other than here on planet Earth, we seriously need to consider how we're walking out our faith. But just BEING different isn't enough. What are we going to DO about it?

What happens when people notice the light and love that is within us because of Jesus? What happens when someone asks you why you don't swear, or drink, or wear immodest clothes, or go clubbing, or do drugs, or sleep around, or a myriad of other choices we make because of our commitment to Christ?

What happens then?

Are we bold enough to "go there?" Are we bold enough to enter into the conversation, not with pointed judgement, but with genuine, gentle, loving conviction? Are we willing to GO, like Jesus said?

Are we ready, at any moment, to tell ohers about our faith, and who we have faith in, and why we know it's the only way? Are we equipped and willing to share the gospel message that changed our lives and eternities so that others' lives and eternities can be changed as well? We we willing to PREACH, like Jesus said?

I get it... not everyone is called to be a pastor of a church. Not everyone is called to move overseas in order to spread the gospel. But, everyone is called to be a missionary, and your mission field is right where you are.  It's at your job. It's at your school. It's in your neighbhorhood. It's in your church. It's in your family.

Look - Jesus died on the cross for YOU, dear friend, because He loves YOU. But, He also died on the cross for everyone else, because He loves them too. It is God's desire that not a single person should perish and live in an eternity separated from Him (2 Peter 3:9).  Getting to Heaven is easy, through Jesus. Whoever will call on the  name of the Lord will be saved.

But how can anyone call on the name of someone they don't believe in? 

And how can they believe in someone they've not heard of? 

And how can they hear without someone PREACHING it to them?

Romans 10:14

That's us, friends. You and me. That's who we are. That's what it means to be missionaries. So, I sincerely hope you are living a life in Christ that draws people to you. But, more than that, I sincerely hope you're telling every single person that God brings your way about Christ, and the reason your life and eternity are different because of Him.  

From one missionary to another - keep on keepin' on for Jesus. 

Why I Want to do Stuff

The other day I wrote this on Facebook:

I woke up this morning with a very powerful conviction: I am not doing enough for Jesus.  He has given me everything and I still give him very little of my life.

John 3:30 NKJV

He must increase, I must decrease.

There were a few comments on it, and I had some discussion about it with my wife.  So, I would like to tell the back story.

Let me start off by saying that Facebook is, to me, a medium that should only be used for short posts.  Though I sometimes read longer posts, I don't usually, so I try to keep mine short, concise, and to the point.

Anyway - I am a server.  I like to serve a lot.  In fact, I think it was an issue in my last job. I was a manger there, and even though I think I did an alright job, I had a habit of serving my employees  instead of leading them.  Of course, to be an effective manager I think there is a part of you that needs to serve (Christ being a good example for this), but too much can leave people not sure what to do or where they stand in their job.

So, I think I have always been pretty good at serving the Lord and giving myself to serve in whatever way possible.  The problem with having a servant's heart, though, is sometimes it feels a little empty.  When you're tired or frustrated, it gets hard to serve.

I have been reading a lot about God's love lately.  Many of the books I read are about people who have fully given their lives to Christ because they have felt his love wash over them.  This, to me, was the missing key.   I want to serve more and be more bold, and the way to do that is to see his face and feel his love.

Because of this, I have been praying.  For months I've prayed, "I want to feel your love Lord.  I want to see you more as a Father, not a boss."  To be fair, I have felt God's love before, but I wanted more.  I wanted that love that makes you not worry about tomorrow.

So, on February 2, 2015, I woke up to His love.  I felt warm all over. There did not seem to be a negative thought that could come in.  But, it was not an outward experience. It was like my very soul was wrapped in his love.

That night, after feeling this peace all day, the expression that came out of it was what I posted on  Facebook.  The whole story sounds a little different than the simple expression I posted, but how do you post all that in a short statement?

I do not believe my works will get me into heaven. I do not worry about an angry God saying I am not doing enough.  I am going to heaven, and my Father delights in me.

What I do believe, though, is that when you feel the love of God, your only response will be, "How can I serve you more?"

Doing My Patriotic Duty

Happy Superbowl Sunday! While most people were trying to decide whether to root for or against the Patriots, I was busy doing my own, um, patriotic (?) duty.

That's right... I signed our family up for insurance through the Healthcare.gov exchange.

Ugh.

It pains me to say that, to be honest.  I don't even want to get into the ins and outs of how I feel about the Affordable Care Act, or how it was passed, or what implications it has for our nation. In a nutshell, I will say that I am NOT a big fan. (That's an understatement of grand proportions, by the way, in case that didn't come through loud and clear.)

What I do want to talk about is *why* I spent my Superbowl Sunday signing us up for insurance in a country we don't even live in through an exchange I never thought should have existed because of a law I disagree with.

We've done a lot of praying about this whole situation. We've researched the law, gotten advice from others, checked with everyone from our tax advisor to our U.S. Senator. And, what it all boiled down to in the end for us is that we have a choice of which citizenship is most important to us - our U.S. citizenship, or our Kingdom citizenship (Phil. 3:20).

I bet you can guess which one won out.

First off, let me be clear that we are absolutely, unequivocally going to need to either buy insurance or pay the fine for not doing so. Yes, I am aware that we live outside the U.S. so no one *thinks* it should apply to us. Yes, I know that a lot of people *think* the law says X, Y, or Z, so they *think* it doesn't affect us. Yes, I know that there actually are exemptions available, even exemptions for people living in a foreign nation. But - trust me on this - I've explored this law inside, outside, and upside down, and there really is no way to get around it for us. At least, not while maintaining our integrity and following what we know to be right.

As a U.S. citizen I know that there are probably ways around buying mandatory insurance that, while technically not meeting the letter of the law, would certainly be acceptable enough and in keeping with what most believe is the spirit of the law, at least. (That is to say, most people wouldn't give them a second thought, and we'd probably never get in any trouble for doing them.)

These are things like just checking "yes" on our taxes when asked if we have insurance through our employer. I mean, technically we do. Kinda. Except that my employer isn't really an employer since I'm just a volunteer.  Oh, and our insurance doesn't meet the minimum coverage requirements set forth in the Affordable Care Act law. Oh, yeah... and our insurance is in GUATEMALA.

So... yes, we have insurance. But, no, it doesn't count. And, even though we could have saved a whole lot of hassle by just checking, "yes" (and hoping we never got audited), it wouldn't have been honest or legal. Maybe as a U.S. citizen I'd have been tempted to do the easy thing, but Kingdom citizens do the right thing. For me, this is about a whole lot more than fines or laws or getting caught. James 4:17 says that if I know the right thing, and do something different, it is a sin. A sin, y'all.

I'm not willing to sin over the ACA law.

But why would not buying insurance be a sin?

Romans 13. That's why.

As much as I might not like it, or completely understand it, or feel happy about it, God (through Paul's letters to the Romans) tells me that I must be subject to the rulers above me, because all authority has been established by God.

<giant sigh>

Well... there you go. If God has established the authority of the president and congress of the United States, and they have implemented this law, then I am going to follow it. Let me be clear here - I'm not saying that there are never circumstances under which people should disobey the law or work to overthrow the authorities above them. For example, if a law requires me to act in a way that is against my Christian principles or Biblical requirements, I will break that law. My Kingdom citizenship will always outrank my U.S. citizenship. But, when the two are not in conflict, no matter how irksome it may be to me, the former requires me to obey the latter.

This is where the rubber hits the road. This is where I've got to decide if I *really* believe that the Bible is my guidebook in all areas of life. This is where I decide if I'm going to live out my faith every day of the week, or just on Sundays and when it's convenient. This is where I get to live out Romans 13 in more than just a theoretical way, even if it hurts.

So, regardless of whether the Seahawks or the Patriots win, I know I've done my patriotic duty - not just as a U.S. citizen, but as a citizen of the Kingdom of the Most High God.  Now that's an authority I'm proud to serve for eternity, which makes even signing up for insurance in a country we don't even live in through an exchange I never thought should have existed because of a law I really disagree with all worthwhile.