Now its true, God does call some to get on a plane, but what about the other however many people who don’t? We are all called to the same mission: Spread Jesus’s love to each and every person.
When Jesus was on earth he taught us some key principles to live by:
- Love
- Forgiveness
- Acceptance
- Faith
- Repentance
- Compassion.
If this is how we live and show that to others, that is what being a missionary is. The core principle of a missionary is to spread God’s love. It is done in our words but also by our actions.
In some way’s it is harder to be a missionary at home. We all have the comforts North America offer’s us with materialism and all our ‘stuff’. We also have to combat all the battling religions and beliefs, the protection of people’s right’s to believe whatever they want, we cannot offend people with our own religious opinions. More and more it is becoming hard to talk about Jesus in our culture here in North America.
I want to give you some practical ways we can all be Missionaries in our Own Backyards
Relationships
In this day and age, pouring the bible down people’s throats is not the most effective way to get the gospel out there. Relationships foster trust and the opportunity to speak into listening ear’s and open hearts. That relationship needs to be developed first, potentially without the mention of the gospel at first, until God opens that door for you to speak into.
Walk the Walk
People can talk all day long, but you will only get them to truly believe what you are saying by your actions.
Are you reading your bible every day?
Do you put into your relationship with God on a daily basis?
Are you living like a follower of Christ at work, home, in social groups?
People notice much more of what you do than what you say, it is important to be a missionary of Christ in your own backyard to be living it in your own heart and home first.
Start Looking at your life
Chances are there are opportunities all around you that you could potentially be missing. Between work, family, friends, community etc there are so many people you come into contact to on a daily basis. There salvation is just as important to God as the orphans in Africa. In the next week, take a tally of all the places you go in a week and where you have opportunities to be a witness of Christ’s love.
Every person we are in contact with is an opportunity
Continuing on that thought process, every person is an opportunity. Each person in our lives currently, and the ones who come in even for a moment’s time, are opportunities to share God’s love.
Listen
God is always speaking to us, bringing people into our lives for reasons that we sometimes miss. We need to be listening, and obeying when we hear what he asks us to do something.
What does this look like?
When we say missionary, it sounds big. It sounds overwhelming, like a lot of work, like a lot of sacrifice and in all honesty sounds uncomfortable. What is important to realize is that being a missionary in your own backyard can be very simple:
It can be
– Inviting someone over for coffee who may be going through a tough time
-Calling someone regularly who doesn’t have a lot of people in their lives
-Helping someone shovel their driveway
-Having a family over for dinner that you may not normally spend time with
-Invite someone to church
-Forgive people who have wronged you
-Pour into a younger person or a new person in faith
-Living in the world but not like the world
The key is; it doesn’t have to be monumental, it just has to be done with love. That is what the gospel is, that is what Jesus wants us to share with the world; his love.
So the next time you feel like you can’t be a missionary in your country, you can tell that little voice in your head that it is wrong, that you can be a witness to God’s word in the way you live your life, the way you treat others and the way you have a relationship with the one and only God Almighty.
You must be logged in to post a comment.