•Tuesday, April 07, 2009
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Before I get too far in my “worldwide classroom” thoughts, I wanted to take a minute to point out a caveat that specifically applies to the viewpoint of world missions. To put it bluntly: I want to make sure that, although God has put a desire in me to travel and do some foreign mission work, it is not mistaken as somehow more important or more significant than other forms of serving God.
I have seen an unfortunate emphasis on young people who go away to do mission work … as if sharing the gospel in a foreign country will somehow earn a brighter jewel in your crown than sharing the gospel with your next door neighbor. I want to be very careful here to not put mission trips on a pedestal, which could lead to an unhealthy pressure on those going as well as those sending them. However, on the flip side, I also want to make sure to give God due glory for the way He HAS used people in other lands to do great things.
One of the most significant things that God taught me through my desire to travel was to treasure my mission field at home. As ironic as it seems, I knew that if I couldn’t get out of my comfort zone and share the gospel here in my hometown, I couldn’t expect myself to do it on some foreign soil. If I could only see the needs far away - and not the ones right around me, it was a sure sign that I needed to get my relationship with God on track. My world classroom begins right at home.
John Piper gives possibly one of the best explanations of home missions that I have read.
It is my earnest prayer that we would keep our eyes heavenward and concern ourselves with glorifying God by serving Him wholeheartedly wherever we are. After all, He is the same God both here and there.
Before I get too far in my “worldwide classroom” thoughts, I wanted to take a minute to point out a caveat that specifically applies to the viewpoint of world missions. To put it bluntly: I want to make sure that, although God has put a desire in me to travel and do some foreign mission work, it is not mistaken as somehow more important or more significant than other forms of serving God.
I have seen an unfortunate emphasis on young people who go away to do mission work … as if sharing the gospel in a foreign country will somehow earn a brighter jewel in your crown than sharing the gospel with your next door neighbor. I want to be very careful here to not put mission trips on a pedestal, which could lead to an unhealthy pressure on those going as well as those sending them. However, on the flip side, I also want to make sure to give God due glory for the way He HAS used people in other lands to do great things.
One of the most significant things that God taught me through my desire to travel was to treasure my mission field at home. As ironic as it seems, I knew that if I couldn’t get out of my comfort zone and share the gospel here in my hometown, I couldn’t expect myself to do it on some foreign soil. If I could only see the needs far away - and not the ones right around me, it was a sure sign that I needed to get my relationship with God on track. My world classroom begins right at home.
John Piper gives possibly one of the best explanations of home missions that I have read.
“Foreign missions is a validation of all ministries of mercy at home because it exports them abroad. Planting the church in an unreached people means planting the base of operations for all the mercy Jesus commanded for the poor. If we don’t let our light shine before the people at home “so that they may see [our] good works and give glory to [our] Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16), what kind of obedience will we export to the nations? …
“The people who stay in the homeland are surrounded by need. We only need eyes to see and hearts that can’t walk by on the other side. This challenge is not separate from the challenge of missions. Showing practical mercy to the poor displays the beauty of Christ at home and makes the exportation of the Christian faith credible. We are hypocrites to pretend enthusiasm for overseas ministry while neglecting the miseries at home. There was something wrong with the priest and the Levite in the story of the good Samaritan, who had their distant religious aims but where not moved by suffering close at hand where they would have to get their own hands dirty. Ministries of mercy close at hand validate the authenticity of our distant concerns.” (from John Piper’s book: Don’t Waste Your Life)
It is my earnest prayer that we would keep our eyes heavenward and concern ourselves with glorifying God by serving Him wholeheartedly wherever we are. After all, He is the same God both here and there.
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