Every Christian knows they have some kind of obligation to reach out. To evangelize. To witness. To proselytize. And that’s exactly what it feels like – an obligation. A duty.
Every time a preacher brings it up (like I did on Sunday), you feel a little twinge of guilt, and you respond in one of two ways: 1) You successfully push down the guilt, and go on with your life the same way you always had before; or 2) You say, “That’s right – I should reach out more. Tomorrow, I’m going to see if my buddy at work wants to go out for lunch, and I’ll invite him to church.”
The lunch comes, and the invitation goes out, and then when you get back to your office you go, “Phew. I’m glad that’s over. And then you go on with your life the same way you always had before.
For most Christians, God’s mission is an event. It’s something you DO. It’s going to Africa to build a school. It’s going down to the park to feed the homeless. It’s inviting a friend to church.
But when God came to earth and took on flesh, he showed us that his mission is not just about an event (although its focus is centered in the event of the cross), it is about an identity. He permanently became one of us, so he could redeem us, adopt us, and conform us to his likeness.
Which means when we join his mission, he’s not calling us to an event. He’s calling us to an identity which will influence every aspect of our lives. The mission field becomes everywhere we are.
Your marriage is a mission field.
If you’re married, then you’re married to a sinner who needs God’s grace. It doesn’t matter if you have the sweetest, most servant-hearted wife in the world, she’s still a sinner.And God wants to give his grace to her through you.
For some people, it might be the toughest mission field you ever encounter. Some men will say, “My wife doesn’t respect me! How can I minister to her, if she doesn’t let me take the initiative?” Some women will say, “My husband doesn’t love me the way I need to be loved! How can I give him God’s grace if he doesn’t appreciate it?” That’s not your concern. God is already working as a missionary to your husband or your wife, and he’s just asking you to join him in what he’s already doing. Let him worry about the results.
Your family is a mission field.
Deuteronomy 6 says,“These words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.”
Your kids need you to be a missionary to them, and teach them about God’s glory and holiness and justice… and also about his grace and mercy and love. When you’re in the car … when you’re at the dinner table … and when you’re planning family worship times to bring it all home.
Your community group is a mission field.
There are people trying to survive in this crazy world, and they need you to share God’s grace with them by sharing your life with them. Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 2 … “Being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.”
I’ve talked with a lot of people who became part of this church, and part of a community group… and realized that they weren’t saved! They saw a group people relying on God’s grace week by week, and realized they themselves were relying on their own morality and righteousness. They realized they had never really accepted the gospel of God’s grace before.
The church is a mission field.
We need greeters, to help new people feel the love of God in a handshake or a hug. We need hospitality people, to help people experience the love of God in a homemade muffin, and some good strong coffee. All of these roles are crucial to the mission!
Your neighborhood and your workplace are mission fields.
Paul worked as a tentmaker, and it wasn’t just so he could make money. It wasn’t even just to raise money for ministry. It was a place of ministry.
In Acts 18, it says that he was working with some tentmakers named Priscilla and Aquila, and he led them to Christ. And pretty soon after that, they were two of his primary ministry partners. By the end of the chapter, this couple is teaching preachers how to preach!
Maybe when you’re at work, you’re mostly just focused on getting through the day. Just get the work done, and get home. But what if you saw your workplace as a mission field? What if you were praying every day for God to give you opportunities to talk to people who are neck-deep in the tohu vabohu mess of this world, and offer the love of Jesus Christ?
The world is a mission field.
Jesus said, “Go and make disciples of all nations.” John Piper said, “Go, send, or disobey.” Each of us has the opportunity to pray for and financially support the local church-planters and cross-cultural missionaries around the world who are taking the light of the gospel into very dark places. Some of us will be able to join them for a short or long trip. Go!