What's the Diff?

When we think missions do we automatically think of something that happens "far, far away"?

I think for many the answer is yes.

I know it is only of late that my mind is being challenged in this important area.

When missionaries go into other countries, other cultures what do they have to do to be successful?

Now, at this point we can become very hyper-spiritual...showing our calvinistic underwear, and say "if the Lord makes it successful then it will be successful".

Unfortunately that same kind of thinking says "God is sovereign and because of this fact He will bring in all the elect to Himself...regardless of what we do."

God is sovereign. This is true. God fore-ordains the end and the means to that end. We need to busy ourselves doing what God commands, diligently looking to God's word to see God's heart, to see God's "means" to reach the appointed "ends", and trusting the Lord to work through the means and bring about His end.

Has God revealed His heart to us? Most definitely! Jesus is the Great Apostle, the Great Missionary.

Jesus entered a specific culture, He was a Jew...He came to His own and His own did not receive Him. Jesus spoke the language of His culture. Interacted within His culture, even though it was the culture that ultimately "killed God". Jesus ate and drank with sinners...without Himself becoming sinful. Jesus didn't live His life according to the standard of the religious hypocrites...who had set up their own standards in which they judged others by...Jesus cared only what His Father said...and lived His life accordingly.

Jesus set His eyes on His mission. He came to save sinners, and therefore He needed to be in relationship with sinners. Jesus did good to those who were His enemies, He loved them, fed them, ate with them, healed them, died for them, and forgave them...

After His resurrection the Lord told us to busy ourselves with discipling the nations...following His teachings...His example of missions.

If a missionary is to be successful in a far away land then they better learn that cultures language, customs, and way of doing things. They need to judge what part of culture is totally sinful and cannot be used to reach out to sinners and what part of culture can be used to reach out to them. Then they need to get busy bringing the gospel to that people, via their cultural language, customs, etc.

If western missionaries mistakenly think that they had to make Westernized Christians then they will miserably fail. It is not our job to bring our Western culture into another country and shape and mold them to it. We are to bring the life giving gospel, and have Jesus shape and mold that culture to it.

Missions are right outside our door. Not just far away. We have a 21st century culture that we live in. We need to learn "their" language...learn their customs...prayerfully work out [according to Scriptures] what in culture cannot be used and must be discarded [example- hitmen for Jesus] and what things can be used [technology, music, a growing number of vocations].

We must not grow comfortable with our old customs if this means we are no longer being culturally relevant to our own day.

Church leaders need to seriously rethink missions for our own day...near and afar.