Why are you going out for missions if you can do it here (in your home country)?
Maybe this is a question you will receive when you inform someone that you will go in a different country for missions.
There’s still a lot of people here that do not know Jesus Christ… Why not reach out the people here?
Sound challenging, isn’t it? Maybe it affects you and makes you confused if you will still go out for cross-cultural (going to another culture/nation) missions.
Let’s read from Luke 10:2 (NIV):
He (Jesus) told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.
Jesus told us that the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Imagine there is a very large field and it’s harvest time. Many farmers are ready to get the harvest and they go to the part of the field that is near to their homes. They get the harvest and went back home. They returned the other day to the same spot trying to find grains that was missed out on the yesterday’s harvest. They continue to do this for many times.
What do you think will happen to the other part of the field wherein no farmers are living nearby? Sad to say, but they will not be harvested and they will become dry even die.
There are few farmers who realized this. It is difficult to live their homes but they need to go to the far part of the field to work and get the harvest there. When they reached the place, they are amazed on still a large part of the field unharvested. They started to work but they cannot finish this because they are few.
Same thing for missions, God is good that our country is predominantly Christian. We experienced God, His salvation and His blessings. There are many Christians reaching out the lost here and continue to make disciples.
But in the other side of the world (in other countries), there are countries who haven’t heard the name of Jesus, who are still blinded, seeking on their own path of salvation. How can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? (Rom. 10:14)
That’s where cross-cultural missionaries get into the picture. Yes, there are still people in their own countries who are yet to be saved, but there’s a greater need in other countries who haven’t heard or just a small portion of the population is Christians.
Okay, now I know, so it means I should go to the other nation as missionary, too?
A new question is raised… Let’s discuss this in our next topic. 🙂