It’s Time to Live Like Missionaries

In May of 2016, I wrote an article called American Christians, You Might Need to Start Living Like Missionaries. I remember I wrote it pretty quickly, without a lot of editing, and I wasn’t expecting it to go very far. To my shock, it became one of my most-read pieces in all my years of blogging. It was shared hundreds of times and linked on a number of different websites. In fact, a magazine contacted me and asked to pay me to print it. 

If I had known it was going to be that popular, I would have chosen a less ridiculous picture to go with it. Good grief.

I think the reason it struck a nerve, though, was because that was the year everyone assumed that Hillary Clinton would be the next president. American Christians were bracing themselves for an assault against their core values. So the idea of needing to live like a missionary resonated with a lot of people. In fact, 8 days before the election, that post received 13,000 hits–on one day. That’s astonishing for my dinky little blog.

As we all know, the story had an unexpected twist when Trump was elected on November 8th. And suddenly, Christians didn’t feel they were on the outside anymore. In fact, some of them felt that we had gained the upper hand. Guess what? Nobody was interested in that post anymore.

As I reflect on the last four years, I mourn the loss of that attraction to the missionary mindset among American Christians. Sure, one could arguably make the case that there were gains in religious liberty and conservative values in these last four years. But was there a cost? Being in power makes us feel like we can win battles without winning hearts. It can make us idolize strength, instead of glorying in weakness. It can make us forget that we are supposed to be living like missionaries.

The political tide has now dramatically turned again. Many Christians prayed for that change, but many others vehemently fought against it. Some believe it’s an injustice. But no matter what any of us feel or believe about this election, can we all agree on God’s sovereignty? Throughout history, God has allowed conservative governments and socialist governments and corrupt governments to reign, all for his good purposes. Sometimes he has allowed his people to suffer and be persecuted in horrific ways. There is nothing in Scripture that tells us America will forever be exempt from that. 

American Christians, we need a missionary mindset. We are outsiders, cultural exiles. We always have been. We can pray for the best for our country, but as citizens of heaven, America does not exist for our sake. It does not owe us anything. Our ultimate goal shouldn’t be to be safe, or to get rich, or to build our career. Our goal should be to further the gospel. 

What if you heard of overseas missionaries who were so dismayed by the evil in their host country that they only interacted with other Christians? Locked their doors, kept out the neighbor children, and loudly proclaimed their disapproval from behind their garden walls. What chance would those missionaries have of impacting that country? So it is with us. We may be increasingly dismayed at what we see in our culture, but we should not be surprised. Our job isn’t to run and hide from it, but to understand it, to get to the heart of what is motivating our friends and neighbors, to truly understand their worldview. We don’t need to agree with everything the world is throwing at us, but we shouldn’t be sequestering ourselves either. Non-Christians, even the ones that scare us, are not our enemies. They are our mission field.

We should be living representations of God’s grace. Yes, we may be looking at losing some freedom. We may lose jobs. We may lose possessions and comfort and we certainly may lose our reputations. Yet do we respond in anger or fear? Or are we seen as joyful, hopeful, and kind, even in the face of injustice and loss? 

This is not our home. Friends, this is not our home! Recent events are not a cause for despair or anxiety. Our God is king, he knows what he is doing, and our hope is in him alone. Let us hold loosely to our security, our liberty, our comfort, knowing that the loss of these things is nothing compared to the surpassing worth of knowing Christ. (Phil. 3:8) If we are counted worthy to suffer for the kingdom of God, may we rejoice!  

What a wonderful time to be a Christian in America. What an incredible opportunity lies before us! In a world that is chaotic and dark, we know the source of peace and light. We have the answer the world needs. Let’s live like it.