“why didn’t you come sooner?”

. . . .

{the need}

“. . . . when Taylor felt most like giving up, a respected man stood up and turned to his Chinese countrymen.

‘I have been searching for the truth a long time,’ he said earnestly.  ’My father and my grandfathers before me searched for the truth, but they never found it.  I have traveled far and wide looking for it.  I have tried Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism, but have found no rest.’

‘But tonight,’ said the man honestly, ‘tonight I have found rest’ . . .

However, a few nights after the man had accepted Jesus as his Savior, he asked Hudson Taylor a very hard question.

‘How long have the people in your land known about Jesus?’

‘Oh, hundreds of years,’ answered Hudson Taylor.

‘What?’ said the man in amazement.  ‘You knew the truth for hundreds of years and didn’t come tell us?  My father searched for the truth all his life and died without finding it. Why didn’t you come sooner?‘” 

*excerpt from Dave & Neta Jackson’s Hero Tales

. . . .

{the urgency}

We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors … We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.
2 Corinthians 5:20

“’Appeal.’ ‘Implore.’ ‘Urge.’ ‘Now is the time.’ Do you hear the urgency in these words? While our missionary God is patient, desiring the salvation of all, the Bible makes clear that this mission of God is moving toward a definite end. This is an urgent mission. It is front and center for Christians and the church. ‘Now is the time’ to share the good news that tells how people can be reconciled to God.”

*see the rest of this article here

 . . . .

{the command}

“Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’”    

~ Matthew 28:18-20

. . . .

{the challenge}

December is a time that Southern Baptists focus on foreign missions, specifically through the Lottie Moon Christmas offering.

The need is great, and the mission is urgent, and the command has been given.

May God grant us grace to rise to the challenge of our call to be His heart, His hands, and His voice to the nations.

. . . .

{The photos above are of my Dad on his recent mission trip to Uganda.

Photo credit:  Pastor Minani Henry

I found the map & globe here.}