UNDERSTANDING MISSION (18)

The Passion for Mission.

"Brothers and fathers, hear the defense that I now make before you." And when they heard that he was addressing them in the Hebrew language, they became even more quiet. And he said: "I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God as all of you are this day. I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women, as the high priest and the whole council of elders can bear me witness. From them, I received letters to the brothers, and I journeyed toward Damascus to take those also who were there and bring them in bonds to Jerusalem to be punished." (Acts 22:1-5)

Who says we have no job?  

Who says we are lazy?  

Who says we are not learned and well-equipped educationally?  

Who says we are not well-fed?  

Is there anyone who would accuse us of being without focus?  

Who says we are not eating sumptuously and dressing well and simply?  

There is just one thing that drives us crazy: a passion to serve the neglected and make the gospel available to men whom others may not think of for years to come.

"This is my defense to those who would examine me. 

Do we not have the right to eat and drink?  

Do we not have the right to take along a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas?  

Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living?  

Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard without eating any of its fruit? Or who tends a flock without getting some of the milk?" (1 Corinthians 9:3-7)

There is a passion in the heart of a missionary that is intricately unexplainable. Call him several times, many months, and several years. Some things remain mysterious that a missionary himself cannot explain. There is just one thing that he can explain other than simply saying: I HAVE A HUNGER IN MY SPIRIT.

Take a missionary away from the open field, full of constant dangers, susceptible to contagious diseases, illness, and sudden death, and put him in a secured mansion, full of adorable, assorted, and nourishing foods. Yet, his stomach remains starving. He remains fearful and insecure. His spirit remains unstable and struggles to find existence. His mind and disposition are glued to the open field where he finds purpose for life and eternity.

To others, he seems not to be doing anything significant compared to his contemporaries in the cities and developed nations of the world. But here is a man whose happiness is attached to those helpless ones: the motherless, out-of-school children, and those old folks who are neglected. These people cannot give him the names and fame that the world looks for, but he is a fulfilled man. And God is pleased with a man who looks out for the lost sheep.

This man, rather than enjoying the support of his immediate constituency—the church—is being asked to write reports of his successes. But when it is read, what do they find? Two old women are being attended to daily, two motherless children who live at the mercy of the missionary, and a government-abandoned school in the village where he has volunteers to teach every day. This is not the report the church wants. They desire a congregation of twenty or more where tithes and offerings can come to the main church. They need an extension of their denominations in other cities and nations. But this is not the driving force of this missionary. He has a hunger that can't be condensed to reports.

This man needs to be understood. He can't stand alone. This man needs moral, emotional, and financial support; this is an indispensable tool for his eventual success in the field.

A missionary does what others neglect. He reaches out to those who are unthinkable. His heart is built to think beyond the comfort and conveniences he is privileged to. But, no matter how strong and resilient he thinks he is, HE NEEDS CONCERTED SUPPORT.

Will you be the helping hand? Seek out a missionary to adopt or a mission agency to help.

Rise up, O men of God!

Have done with lesser things.  

Give heart and mind and soul and strength  

To serve the King of kings.

Rise up, O men of God!

The kingdom tarries long.  

Bring in the day of brotherhood  

And end the night of wrong.

Rise up, O men of God!

The church for you doth wait,  

Her strength unequal to her task;  

Rise up and make her great!

Lift high the cross of Christ!

Tread where His feet have trod.  

As brothers of the Son of Man,  

Rise up, O men of God. 

Peter Abdul-Razaq OLAYINKA  

A serving missionary with Living Grace Christian Missions, Ilara.  

WhatsApp: (+229) 0194139130  

Mobile no.: (+234) 8066540987, (+234) 7084504532  

Email: peterrazaq@yahoo.com  

Twitter & Instagram: @peterrazaq  

LinkedIn: Revd. Peter OLAYINKA