This weekend I was at a great little conference held at the US Center for World Missions for those who are looking to go out on the mission field in the near future. We had great speakers, great conversations, made great connections and were able to network people and resources. But by about day 3, I was a bit overwhelmed talking about strategy and vision and methodology for mission. I felt like my brain was swimming and I was desperately trying to sort through it all.
And then, the speaker for that night got up and was supposed to address the issue of what Western Missionaries need to do prepare to go on the mission field. His response, in an hour-long sermon?
The disentangled Christ.
Suddenly it all clicked--strategy and vision and methodology are all good things to think about and discuss. But, often Jesus gets tangled up in all of those things and suddenly, the very One we're trying to bring to the nations is wrapped up in all of these relative things. But, Jesus is the only Absolute. I can prepare for 10 years to go on the mission field, but if I am not seeking to know Jesus intimately, I have nothing to bring with me. I don't want to be known for the program I'm trying to push or the great strategy I've thought of--I want to be known as one who knows and loves Jesus Christ.
It brought me back to the question that had been tormenting me--what is the biblical method for missions? There are so many methods out there, but I just want to be faithful to what God wants. But, I was brought to Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 2:1-2 :
And when I came to you, bretheren, I did not come with superiority
of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God.
For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.
Paul's greatest concern wasn't a method or a strategy, because he knew those things could change and, most likely, would change. But, the one thing he did seek--Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
He wanted to know the complete covering of Jesus' blood for him and for those to whom he was preaching.
He wanted to know the power of the resurrection, that conquered sin and death and gave him something to tell people and gave him the enabling power to tell them.
I believe that God gives us creativity and grace to think and plan and prepare for strategically extending the reach of the gospel to the ends of the earth. He doesn't just lay out a "method" because He's created us to function and be effective in a variety of ways--ways that reflect His creativity and ingenuity and His ability to pierce dark places with the light of the gospel in endless ways.
I came back to Jesus' warning in Matthew 7:21-23
Not everyone who says to Me, "Lord, Lord," will enter the kingdom of heaven,
but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.
Many will say to me on that day, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name,
and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?"
And then I will declare to them, "I never knew you; Depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.
Wow...this verse just pierces my heart every time I read it. I can't imagine coming before the Lord one day, claiming all the good "things" I've done in His name and yet having him look me in the eyes and tell me, "Emily, you may have done amazing things, but none of them mattered because you didn't know Me."
So, that's where I sit today. I just want to know Him. Because, unless I've sought to know Him and unless everything else in my life flows out of a love for Him, none of it matters. HE is what I am bringing to the nations; not a method or a ground-breaking strategy.
Lord, help me to know You--intimately, completely, purely. Help me to know the Jesus at the cross and all that it implies. Help me to walk into the empty tomb with your disciples and walk out in the power of your resurrection.
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