The missionary’s creed
God called Abraham to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance and he obeyed, and went out not knowing wither he went (Hebrews 11:8).
Abraham is considered one of the “Fathers of Faith” for this reason–obeying God and going out to look for a land that he’d never seen. Missionaries in The Family International often do the same, moving from our home countries to foreign lands, filled with strange and new foods, customs, religions and climates. Not just to sample the strangeness or experience the land as a tourist, but to truly become one with the people of the land, to try and help them in anyway we can. Why do we do this? Because God asked us to. We consider Mark 16:15 to be our most important credo: to “go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature”. This often means forsaking the comforts and conveniences of the modern world (though the world has been rapidly modernizing over the past decade so that even countries considered “third-world” have many of the conveniences that the first-world take for granted). Living this creed often means leaving behind relatives and friends and familiar surroundings. We do this because we love God and want to obey Him. We do this because we want to bring the good news of Jesus’ love to those who often don’t even know who Jesus is.
David Livingstone went into the further reaches of Africa at a time when it was considered uninhabitable,
and dedicated his life to helping and teaching the natives of that land. When he was lauded for his “sacrifice” he laughed and said that he had never made any sacrifices. For everything that he gave up to serve God, God repayed him many times over. The life of a missionary includes much change, it takes a willingness to sacrifice personal comforts sometimes, or personal goals and desires. It is worth it though, because in return, God offers a life filled with spiritual satisfaction and many blessings–blessings like joy and contentment, a knowledge that no matter what happens, God will take care of us. A guarantee that nothing that is given away to others will be wasted. Each act of kindness and selflessness does make a difference, and everyone involved is enriched as a result.
As it says in Hebrews chapter 11, because we live the life of faith “God is not ashamed to be called [our] God…” because we follow Him and do was He asks of us, which is to go out into the world and tell everyone we can that Jesus died to save our lives, and through Jesus’ sacrifice each and every person on this earth can have eternal life, if only they’ll accept Him. If you haven’t asked Jesus to come into your heart, consider doing it today. Right now, in fact. All you have to do is say:
Dear Jesus, thank You for dying for me so that all my mistakes and wrongs can be forgiven. I now open the door to my heart and ask You to please come into my life, forgive me, and give me Your free gift of eternal life. Amen.
That’s it. That’s all you have to say, and if you believe it then He will come in and change your life. We hope you do.
–The Editors