I am thinking this morning about how much our world has changed from the 1950s world I knew as a boy. If you had told my grandmother, or even my mother, about the possibilities we enjoy today in a constantly shrinking world with almost unlimited opportunities for travel, they would hardly have believed it. The ability to travel around the world, to travel frequently, to visit mission points and participate in the things of the kingdom of God in many places outside the U.S. is a blessing. That I correspond daily with people all around the world by email, or even better, use the computer to talk by phone to people in faraway places is astounding.
We are today blessed with opportunities to spread the gospel in ways that were unimaginable just a few short years ago. Many of us are trying hard to do what can be done and to walk through the doors God opens. I fear, however, that we are not aggressive enough nor committed enough to the dream of taking the gospel to our world. We commit too few resources to the task; we commit too little of ourselves to the task; and too few churches have caught the vision. We are increasingly ‘wimpy’ at home in our conversations with our friends, neighbors, and family members, and too few Christians consider sharing the gospel a high enough priority to pray about it daily and focus life’s activities toward bringing others closer to Christ. Our lack of boldness at home has more and more translated to a “benevolence first” mentality in missions so that many people come within our sphere of influence without ever hearing the saving message of Jesus Christ.
Perhaps part of the solution is in this solemn reminder. Without Jesus Christ, people are lost. God sent Jesus so that the world might recognize him, respect him, and respond to his love. People cannot know the God of heaven unless the story of Jesus is told. Each Christian has a different role to play in meeting the challenge; we all have different opportunities. But we have the same challenge—walking in the reality of God’s presence in this world so that our lives reflect him.