Missions and Its Power on Perspective
When missions touch the heart of the American, it bleeds inside their soul and ignites their brain. The going, the bank account, and the questions are all side notes fully encountered by Mark 10:27-31, for with God all things are possible.
One of the reasons I love missions is the fluent and lasting change it can bring to our perspective: a particular attitude toward or way of regarding something.
There is a cultural awakening that I believe, brings change in the community and in the missionary alike.
I think life is more easily lived when we stay inside our circle, fit in our community, and understand our people. However, I have come to find that it is more deafening to the outsider, silencing to the imagination, and stiffening to the heart.
We have easily become a Christian people who find our environment and our home the only project to be the one that deserves our attention.
The truth about our communities, bubbles, and safe-places is that they are as quickly passing as we can say our name, yet we choose to become so stably focused in our area that we forget that Heaven will come and Earth will pass on.
And when Heaven advances upon us, it will look more like people who don’t look like you, eat the same foods, nor speak the same language.
I think this is quite the reality when we spend all sorts of time seeking to understand the environment that we are in and close our minds to the parts of the world that are also existing.
How many times do other cultures and places around the world stretch our thinking? Do we live in a way that brings the world as a whole into our reality? Our scope?
It’s easy enough to let concerns that poke up their heads in a 5-mile radius, be the only ones that I allow in… but this can’t be the fulfillment of my Christian life. It can’t be.
And that’s where missions come in. That’s where I believe God has offered us all a way to move beyond our own natural thinking.
But, I’ve come to find that although most people will have some emotional reaction to missions, they will not propel beyond. If you see this as a common thread in your life, maybe take some time and actually move. Take a few minutes to research other countries and their stats on Christianity and other religions. Shoot a message to a missionary at your church and ask them about their struggles on the field. Open up your wallet to something bigger than you that can bless someone who has involvement in missions already. Begin planning the trip that you’ve felt God put on your heart for a while now. Whatever it is, step into unknown territory for big change, for culture awareness to change your perspective for your life and for the lives of others.