A person is either a missionary or a mission-field.
Corrie ten Boom
Corrie ten Boom and her family saved the lives of approximately 800 Jews during the Holocaust. She grew up in a devoutly religious family and during World War II she and her family protected Jews fleeing the Nazi’s behind a secret wall in her family’s watch shop in Haarlem, Netherlands. Betrayed by a fellow Dutchman, the entire family was arrested and imprisoned. Corrie would be the only one of her family to survive their imprisonment and the Ravensbruck concentration camp. After her release in December 1944, Corrie ten Boom became an author and eventually settled in California writing her memoir, The Hiding Place, and many devotionals.
Faith inspired the ten Boom family to serve society, offering shelter, food, money, a hiding place, to those in need. In this tradition, the family held a deep respect for the Jewish community in Amsterdam, considering them “God’s ancient people.”
I read the above quote a couple of weeks ago and can’t get it out of my head. I have really been chewing on it – am I a missionary or a mission-field? Is my life consistently in such disarray (so far from Jesus) that it looks like a mission field? Or, am I consistently working on a relationship with Jesus that would give me the power and strength to assist on a mission-field? Are you a missionary or a mission-field?
The word mission comes from a Latin word meaning “to send.” Hmmm… Where have we heard that before? A mission is a special quest or a special assignment to bring aid, healing, support, education, evangelism, Jesus to other people. One who is sent on this mission is called a missionary. The place where the special assignment takes place is called the mission-field, where the need is.
Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20
As Christians we are called to go to the mission-fields and be missionaries. In fact, we are commissioned to do that by Jesus. He has given the instruction, we must take the action. That’s obedience.
Go, tell the world about Him. Who He is. What He’s done. He’s commissioned us as missionaries to the lost-world mission-field.
Thank you!