The Gospel continually teaches us about our mission as christians. This goes beyond what we can measure in distance or time.
It doesn’t matter the geographical distance or the time it takes to fulfill this mission. What really matters is how deeply we carry it out and how our hearts are devoted to this purpose.
Instructed by love
“In fact, this is love for God: to keep His commands. And His commands are not burdensome”
1 John 5:3
The Bible instructs us in various ways and through various texts about the missionary role we have as christians. It invites us to live out the Great Commandment and the Great Commission.
When we think of missionary work, it’s common to think about trips to Africa or other countries. But Jesus urges us to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and mind, and to love our neighbor as ourselves, spreading the love of the Father and His message of mercy and grace.
The ‘Great Commandment,’ revealed by Jesus in Matthew 22:37-39, is the fundamental basis for the missionary call.
This love that renounces our own desires and wishes is the driving force behind the Christian mission. When we love God above all, our hearts overflow with this love to reach and impact lives around us, and consequently, as they are reached, they also overflow onto other lives.
Here and now
“He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.“
Mark 16:15
Living out this Great Commandment in the mission means seeing each individual as a loved being of God and speaking His word to everyone in the same way, with the same depth and clarity, directed in a special way to each heart and what each person needs to hear.
It means having a heart filled with compassion, being assistance, hope, and grace in the lives of others, just as Jesus was!
The mission is not only in another country or continent. It begins at home, extends to the neighborhood, reaches the city, crosses national borders, and embraces the world. Thus, love for God translates into love for others.
If it’s to the other side of the world that you desire to go to speak of God, start by preparing for it at home, being the answer to the people around you who also need to know the Kingdom.
A task for everyone
The Great Commission, recorded in Matthew 28:19-20, is the divine mandate to take the Gospel to all nations, but nations are made up of individual people. This is a call that transcends cultural, linguistic, and geographical barriers. It goes beyond a plane trip; it begins even before we get into a car to go far away. This is an invitation to be a living witnesses of the transformation we’ve experienced in Christ.
We need to share the redeeming message of Jesus. This involves not only words but also actions that reflect the love and truth of the Gospel. The mission is an invitation to invest time in serving and loving others, to be a light in the midst of darkness, to proclaim freedom to the captives, and to provide hope to those who have lost faith.
Christian mission is not an exclusive task for a few but a collective responsibility of the faith community, whether in your own city or another. The mission is not just an external call; it’s an invitation to deepen our relationship with God, allowing His love to overflow into our lives and reach others.
Every step toward the mission needs to be guided and based on love for God and neighbor. May we live out the Great Commandment and the Great Commission not as burdensome tasks but as significant opportunities to participate in the work of the Creator Himself. As we respond to this call, may we be living witnesses of the transformation that the Gospel works in our lives and in the lives around us, thus fulfilling God’s eternal purpose for His church.
