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| This is me with a little Liberian boy and his cousin in the background. |
But life creeps in. Family creeps in. Work - even pastoral work - creeps in. And instead of mobilizing my life and my family to be missionaries with me, I lose focus and continue to just be a pastor, getting the job done, and miss the great things that God wants to do through me, my family, and this great community.
One thing I taught to my brothers and sisters in Liberia during my lesson on the mission of the church was that they need to be the missionaries where they live. They are better placed to be the one to reach those in their neighborhoods and workplaces than me or any other missionary that comes over there to help. This concept might be difficult for a Liberian to grasp because they have missionaries coming over to help them all of the time. But the missionary’s job is not to enable complacent following of Jesus but to empower them to radically follow Jesus in their life. They need to be the ambassadors of Jesus where they live. We empower; they make the difference.
I love the ambassador analogy used by Paul in his letter to the Ephesians: “To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak” (Ephesians 6:18-20 ESV).
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| The children from Riverside Christian Church gave me some of their toys to give to Liberian children who have absolutely no toys besides sticks and trash. Here they are enjoying some of their matchbox cars. |
The point is that an ambassador of a nation tries to get the will of that nation done in the foreign land they are temporarily residing in. Thankfully, I am not an ambassador for the United States. I, like the apostle Paul, am an ambassador for the “mystery of the gospel." You, if you are a follower of Jesus, are also an ambassador of the mystery of the gospel. When you go somewhere, you shouldn’t be trying to get the will of America implemented. Instead, you should be trying to free people by the mystery of the gospel. You are an ambassador for Jesus.
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| People from Riverside Christian Church also gave me Bibles to give to those who have no Bibles. This is Mary with her Bible. Very happy! |
But we do have one. And that one is you and me. We are called to be ambassadors for Jesus. We are to be a city on a hill. We are to be the light of the world. We are to be the salt of the earth. (Matthew 5:13-16). Are we? Or do we expect someone else to do the jobs that Jesus has called us to do?
First, I am an ambassador of Jesus to my family. Then to the church placed in my care. Then to the community I live in. I can never let the busyness of the world creep in and strangle that calling to death. If I am not the ambassador, who will be? If you aren’t His ambassador in your family, in your workplace, and in your community, who will be?
This is part of a series that I wrote showing the mission trip I took to Liberia.
I divided the subjects into individual pages, for ease of use.
Here are a few articles that I wrote upon my return:
One Drop
One Drop
