It is mission conference time here at Bethel Baptist Church and this past Sunday we had the privilege of hearing from two delightful missionaries. Mission is a word that speaks of our place and purpose in this world. Christ summarized this very simply in the following verse of Scripture:
John 15:16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain:
We have a place and purpose in this world that is best described as bearing fruit that brings attention to the person of our Savior. When this is thought about and looked at from a Bible perspective we find that this is a large and diversified business.
If you would travel through the mid-western states in the fall, you would have the privilege of seeing some of the most productive land in our nation. One thing that has often caught my attention is how few people it takes to raise so much abundance. I have great admiration for these “farmers”. These men and women work hard and take huge risks in what ends up being the abundant source of foods that we enjoy. However they cannot do this alone. Behind them are men and women working to provide, machinery, energy, seed, fertilizer, research and education. There are bankers supplying loans that are necessary and other workers to provide additional labor at crucial times of the season.
The work of God in what we call “missions” is not greatly different. There are a great number of diversified people that we recognize as the churches that work together to effect the harvest. All of them are necessary but many of them go unnoticed. Paul spoke of them in these terms:
1 Corinthians 12:14 For the body is not one member, but many.
1 Corinthians 12:22-25 Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary: And those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness. For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked: That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another.
It is so important for each of us to settle in, in the place that God has given us with the talents and abilities that He has supplied and just quietly do our jobs. It is a great work that we do.
