The Great Unfinished Task
On Saturday the prayer team assembled for our monthly gathering. I read this excerpt from Operation World, a guide to prayer for world missions:
“North Bihar (India) is one of the least evangelized mega-populations in the world. It has been long known as a graveyard of missions. Years of effort have yielded little fruit among the Hindu and Muslim people of the plains…14 million forward caste Hindus…33 million backward castes…15 million Muslims…”
As I read the numbers, I started tearing up. Now, to my shame, I’m not normally that sensitive to the Lord. But something about being in that small group around our kitchen table pulled the plug and started my eyes watering. Of course, I recovered quickly, hoping no one had noticed. But the real question is, why am I not weeping more often for the millions who are currently outside the reach of a credible witness for Christ?
Because I don’t yet know, I don’t yet truly grasp, the Lord’s heart for the nations like I should. Listen to the passion of Psalm 67, where we see clearly God’s heart for the world (note the italicized portions):
1 May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face shine upon us,
2 that your ways may be known on earth,
your salvation among all nations.
3 May the peoples praise you, O God;
may all the peoples praise you.
4 May the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you rule the peoples justly
and guide the nations of the earth.
5 May the peoples praise you, O God;
may all the peoples praise you.
6 Then the land will yield its harvest,
and God, our God, will bless us.
7 God will bless us,
and all the ends of the earth will fear him.
Christ Community Church gives 13.5% of all the money that is given through our weekly offerings to the task of world missions. The Bogata team leaves in two weeks. Brent and Dana Senior are heading out to Vietnam for medical work (as Christians :) and Joe Chapman just returned from Ghana on a similar trip. The Odessa team is forming. The list goes on and on. Praise God for giving our little church a piece of the action in world missions!
But “your salvation [known] among the nations” remains as the great unfinished task. The challenge is beyond enormous. That is why every Christian must do his or her part. Praying, giving, going, and mobilizing are all necessary for this essential Kingdom work. Are you playing your part?