Lose the Guilt
Following the Shepherd into Missions
| by Jeff Boesel |
Mobilizers of the missions force often let their passion to see more harvesters in the
harvest field push them to lay a guilt trip on believers who don't sense the same
urgency. I am sure you have heard it. "Millions are dying without Christ each year and
yet so few are willing to go. Why work here in the United States where there is a church,
literally, within reach of every person when there are countries where there are complete
cities with no light whatsoever." There can be no denying that these are true statements
and yet I would challenge the need to use them to motivate.
All believers are responsible to answer the Great Commission. Our very lives are to be
the light in the darkness wherever we are. Missionary statesman Dick Hillis said it this
way, "Every heart with Christ…a missionary. Every heart without Christ…a mission
field." The 27 year old founder of Commission Expeditions, Joél Malm, defines a
missionary as "someone doing ministry they should be doing anyway in their home
culture, in a different culture." These are truths we all hold. The need for harvesters is
evident in our Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and in the uttermost parts of the earth. There
is no lack of opportunity, wherever we find ourselves. Life is and should be ministry.
So the question is not whether we should be involved in ministry (life-style or full-time)
but where God might have us minister? Is God, at this time in our lives, leading us to
leave our home culture and live our lives for him in a different culture? Please consider
the following thoughts.
God's leading will be clear and will seem like the obvious choice. In listening to
each missionary's story of obedience to God's leading on their lives, one thing is
constant. God, through many varied means, brought each one to a point of decision
where the choice was obvious and his leading was clear. Become a cross-cultural
missionary or disobey. If you are reading this my guess is that you have committed
yourself to be obedient to God's leading in your life to the best of your ability. When
faced with that clear choice, my prayer is that you will obey. If his leading is not clear and
obvious, wait until it is.
Here is why I believe I can say this with confidence. First, Proverbs 3:5,6 tells us that if
we trust in the Lord and acknowledge him along our way, not dependant on our own
understanding, he will make our path straight. I would interpret this as putting one foot in
front of the other and not being concerned about whether the path turns left or right. The
straight path is the obvious path. Second, if God can cause completely pagan leaders
like Pharaoh and Nebuchadnezzar to follow his exact leading, though they thought
themselves to be gods, is he not able to make his will clearly known to us, people
committed to following him, and direct us in it? Finally, if God wants us to do something
that seems completely illogical, he will give us more to go on. Moses and the burning
bush is my favorite example of this. What God was asking him to do was, logically,
certain death without hope of success. So God emphasized his leading with the
supernatural, a bush burning (but not burning up), an audible voice and a couple
miracles to take with him for good measure.
God's leading will be unavoidable. By saying this I don't mean that we cannot rebel
and go the other way. Jonah certainly did. But what happened to Jonah? He ended up
right where God wanted him, doing what God wanted him to do in spite of his initial
rebellion. I am saying that we don't have to worry about missing God's leading. If we
happen to turn away from it the first time, God will bring it back around. It will eventually
become the only real choice no matter which way we turn.
Let me share how this played out in my own life. After around eight years as an Air
Traffic Controller I sensed that God had something else in store for me. I had felt that
leading before, earlier in my life, and I ignored it. That led to my "big fish" story and, like
Jonah's, it was not pretty. I was not about to go through that again so I committed to take
action. Becoming a missionary wasn't a clear choice, even though both my wife's and
my parents are missionaries. All I knew was that it was time for a change. So we
followed the obvious path and started to apply to different air traffic jobs which were
available. One by one these doors continued to close while, in the mean time, God
gently kept bringing missions to our minds through music we were listening to, sermons
we were hearing, and books we were reading. Finally, we realized that we were not
treating the opportunity to be involved as missionaries in the same way we were
approaching other "job" opportunities. We were taking initial steps toward all other
openings but were not taking any steps toward missions. After much prayer, we
determined to take a step toward cross-cultural ministry. That door stayed open and we
have been on that path ever since.
As a mobilizer I am saying, "Don't go!" unless God leaves you no other choice. Consider
this. It is as rebellious to pursue missions out of God's will as it is rebellious to turn away
if he is leading in that direction. Our responsibility is obedience. God's responsibility is
bringing the lost world to himself. As we are obedient, he will use us in his work as he
pleases, wherever he places us. As we remain in him fruit happens.
So, lose the guilt. Just follow the Shepherd.
