Missionary Christians Send...

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PART III

In the context of the Great Commission... there are two types of Christians with distinctly different roles within the Church. There are Christian Missionaries... they go to the mission field. Then there are Missionary Christians.... they authorize, send and support those that go to the mission field.

John encourages Gaius to "send them [the missionaries] forward on their journey" (3 John, v. 6). As in the case with the first missionary journey from Antioch, those who did not go, were senders (Acts 13:4-5). But how should Missionary Christians send out their fellow servants in the world's mission fields?

Filled with love
John commends Gaius for his love (v. 6) which he has heard about from the report of others. Above all, Christians should be characterized by love, especially Christians who are committed to commissioning missionaries. First, love for God will ensure that when we send out missionaries, we do so "in a manner worthy of God" (v. 6). Secondly, love for the brethren, especially for those who go forth for the sake of Christ's name, will cause us to take a serious interest in those who go out from us. Finally, a love for people in the world--the world which God loved so much that He sent His own Son--will make us willing to send our brothers, sisters, sons and daughters to declare the great grace and glory of God's salvation to them. To fulfill the calling to be a Missionary Christian, one must have a heart filled with love.

Committed to the truth
But love is not enough. Zeal for world missions is no excuse for being weak on truth. In reality there can be no such zeal, nor genuine love, without a commitment to the truth. Paul says that "love rejoices in the truth" (1 Corinthians 13:6). Further, an informed concern for world evangelism carries with it a jealousy for the unadulterated evangel.

Those who send must be as committed to God's revealed truth as those who go. John recognized this quality in Gaius and encourages him to become a fellow worker with missionaries "for the truth" (v. 8). How is such commitment cultivated? By learning to "walk in the truth" (v. 3). That is, by having a steadfast, practical devotion to the truth.

Love and truth make for a spiritually potent combination. It proved to be very beneficial to those who had come to Gaius's church. They had their needs met very well. Such balanced Christian living is attractive and encouraging to believers everywhere.

Being thoroughly committed to God's truth affords a great satisfaction in sending out missionaries who will faithfully carry that truth to unreached people groups. The prospect of being directly involved in sending the gospel around the world is reason to rejoice. But, having a deep love for those who are sent out also exposes one to deep pain. When we send loved ones, we send a part of ourselves with them. It involves sorrow--real sorrow at the thought of separation and change in relationships.

So it is common to find mixed emotions welling up within a congregation at the prospect of sending loved ones into the mission field. We love them and they will be missed. But at the same time we are devoted to the truth which they are taking with them and rejoice to have a part in the great work of declaring God's grace to the nations.

Conclusion
The command of the Great Commission is clear and its practical application as expressed in the story of Gaius in 3rd John helps us recognize the roles played by all Christians... we either go or we send. We cannot remain passive, uninterested bystanders in the missionary work of our Lord. Both goers and senders are critical to the success of any mission endeavor. Both are important. Both labors must be entered into with equal commitment and seriousness.

Those of us who stay are called to be senders--for now. But, are you willing for God to call you to go to the field in the future? Our attitudes ought to be this: willing to go, called to stay; and therefore determined to do all that we can to be as faithful in our staying as we expect those we send to be faithful in their going.

The ones who go out from us do not merely "become" our missionaries. Nor do we merely "let them go." Rather, we send them. They remain a part of us--our responsibility; our privilege to serve and love--though now in a vastly different way. They are our family--extended across the world, all for the sake of the Name.

As Christian missionaries go they do so as a part of a local church. They go for the honor and glory of Jesus Christ and with a commitment to the truth which is revealed in Him. They go to make Christ known where He is not presently known. Therefore they must go with a determination to live holy lives, to teach God's Word and to tell of His love for sinners. In dependence on God's Spirit, they go to persuade those who have been shut up in darkness to come to the Light that gives life.

When William Carey volunteered to leave England for the distant shores of India to "take the gospel to the heathen," his friend and fellow pastor, Andrew Fuller agreed to stay behind and rally support for the effort. Their lives typify, respectively, what it means to be a Christian Missionary and a Missionary Christian.

Looking back on the solemn occasion when Carey agreed to go, Fuller describes the commitment which was made.

We saw that there was a gold mine in India, but it seemed almost as deep as the center of the earth. Who will venture to explore it? "I will go down," said Mr. Carey to his brethren, "but remember that you must hold the ropes." We solemnly engaged to do so; nor while we live, shall we desert him.

May such a spirit live on in a new generation of goers and senders.