"I'm a Missionary!" ... "No, you are not." This has been my inner dialogue for months now...
Yesterday, I saw a previous coworker and she asked me what I was doing now.
"I'm a Missionary!," I exclaimed. "I'm working with an evangelical ministry called SOS Events, Alabama SOS, telling people about Jesus!"
The initial and immediate look of surprise and disbelief on her face was priceless. And I know it only too well because I've had those same emotions course through my body when I think of myself as a Missionary...
{Inner dialogue, again...}
"How dare you call yourself a Missionary! You and your family don't live in a third world country, under persecution and hardships. You have a house and a car and you live right here in Montgomery, Alabama {for goodness' sake}. What makes you think you can call yourself a Missionary, Patty? Huh, huh? Well!!?? Hmpf."
On Wednesday nights, my co-teacher and I show and tell our 3 & 4 year old Mission Friends about Jesus' love for them. We talk about missionaries {some} and we play {lots}. We ask "What is a missionary?" And the answer is "Someone who tells people about Jesus." And then we tell them "Did you know that YOU are a missionary?" We talk about the missionary's family...what their lives are like...we pray for them and each other...and we play {lots.}
So are they REALLY missionaries...or is it all a lie?
I see signs at some churches that say "You are now entering the mission field."
So wouldn't THAT mean we are supposed to be missionaries...or is it all a lie?
So when I think of myself as a Missionary, why do I cringe...feel like a fraud...shrink back from it...minimize it...
The answer: Quit listening to the devil's lies and focus on God's truth instead!
God's truth tells us if we surrender our lives to Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we are commanded to be missionaries. That it is not even an option. We. Are. Missionaries.
So guess what? I'm laying a bold claim to the title of Missionary...with authority from the Almighty...with the knowledge and conviction that I have surrendered my life to Christ and His command in my Life Verse "And then He told them, 'Go into all the world, and preach the Good News to everyone." Mark 16:15
And instead of listening to the devil's lies, I will focus my eyes upon Jesus, His word and His mission for my life.
"The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the Harvest to send out workers into his harvest." Matthew 9:37-38
"Declaring the glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the people! Psalms 96:3
"But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to everyman that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear." 1 Peter 3:15
