There was a time in life when I thought a good spiritual life and understanding of missions was valued by how many stamps I had in my passport. To say that I built a house in Mexico, or held a baby in Kenya, or fed the homeless of South America seemed like a great way to earn a place in heaven. Surely serving the least of these was a great indication of my spiritual depth. Surely.
But is radical Christianity the same as purpose-driven tourism?
Maybe for some the idea of traveling to foreign lands is really the calling upon their life. But after serving in ministry for over 12 years, I am learning to recognize the difference between a calling and a desire to get on a plane, leave normalcy, and add another jewel to our self-building spiritual crown. We don’t need to get on a plane or build a house or hold a baby for God to reveal Himself to us.
Maybe—just maybe—God intends to transform our lives not by sending us on a plane to the remote jungles of Botswana, but by tethering us to our boring routines and mundane patterns of life. Some of the most life-changing realizations can happen while we do our homework, sit in a lecture*, rock our own baby, clean our own house, and show up to work on time.
There’s no doubt changing the scenery in life can certainly change our souls, but before we sign up for the next missions trip or long for the escapism of a holy huddle on foreign soil, many of us are in need of being transformed before we end up living in clay huts ill-equipped to do the work God has called us to do.
Ministry is here and now, local and domestic. For those who are called to lands far, far away, we celebrate the distinct call upon their life and pray for provision and providential movings. But for those of us who sit in offices with no windows, aren’t boarding planes, or building houses, life is still destined for purpose to the glory of God.
Sure, it would be cool to blog from Guam holding a bible in one hand a coconut in another with a picture I posted in Instagram. But as I sit in a hotel room in Lubbock, Texas this morning, I realized that servanthood doesn’t require a passport and ministry isn’t solely for the world-traveler. It’s a daily commitment to recognize life isn’t about me. Daily dying to self, loving others, and giving praise to God is missional.
Do what God has called you to do. With or without your passport. 😉
Glamorous or not, what is God calling you to do? Are you doing it?
*I realized I had a call of ministry on my life while in graduate school in the middle of a lecture that went something like: I really need to finish my midterm. I really need to meet with Professor Shroud. Wait, I really just want to do ministry and serve people. Truth.
“what is God calling you to do?”
I keep asking but He doesn’t reply to my mail – US Lost Office indeed! Maybe I have the wrong address….
In conclusion, Lord I wish I knew
As resident post master for eMail, I believe the Lord is calling you to fly to California from the UK to come to the summer series in June!
PS Mail cannot be returned 🙂
So if I mail myself over that means I can’t be forced back to the UK and I’ll have to stay in America forever?
Hahaha! Sure. That’s exactly what will happen. And then I’ll be forced to harbor an illegal alien?! 😉
I have no problem with that
ohhhh, i love this post! i think about this topic from time to time and you have given me some new insight. so thank you!
beautiful post, Bianca! 🙂
Quit being right all the time! sheeeeesh! lol jk love you B! 😉
man. i so agree, bianca! i think that there are times when we as believers join a missions project as a cheaper way to travel. we go to some place cool so we can LOOK really cool.
it’s convicting, right?
i love how you shared that we should not just join in on missions because we CAN, but because there is a CALL.
He is calling me to stay in the job I have, with the church family I have, with the husband I have, investing in the lives of the students I have.
I clean preschoolers puddles, wipe tears, tell my babies how much God loves them, and learn to love their parents. I’ve come to realize that even though i work at a private Christian school, more than often the people that come to bring their children here are not. Sometimes parents are harder to work with than children but up until recently I’m learning to get to know the parents. Great post B!
Awesome timing and post for today…..!
Love this post, Bianca. Sometimes I have struggled with whether I should go on some of the mission trips my church has participated in because I find myself wanting to go more out of a desire to travel than to serve. Because of that I haven’t ever gone on one. I’m still trying to navigate that… I know the Lord has given me a desire to see different parts of the world but I don’t know to what end, and I don’t want to use missions as an excuse. Still praying…
I’m rocking my baby right now and am glad that counts as serving 😉 I’m in a bit of a Year 32 crisis. How did you deal with being a mom ( stepmom, I guess) all of a sudden?
I was thinking about this all of last night, wishing I could go somewhere far away and be transformed like my friends who have been called to spend this year in West Africa. Thanks for this reminder.
Thank you for sharing this. It totally was something that I needed to hear.
I think that people have the desire to go to other lands and proclaim the Gospel because that is something that Jesus instructed his disciples to do and we are to be his disciples as well. I would submit to you that many do not go over seas to get a cheaper vacation. If you go to certain palces in Mexico, Central America, Asia or Africa I would hardly call those vacations. The reason I believe that the Lord is calling many for out of the country missions is because the Word of God is being rejected here daily. Many people here are too comfortable trying to live the American Dream so they don’t want to live the gospel. With that being said many feel that there is more harvest to be had overseas where the poor and disenfranchised are sheep and are ready to accept the Gospel. It appears that many Americans are stiff necked and don’t want to pick up their cross and follow Jesus. I go out in the streets and witnes the gospel as well as open air preach and sadly even the poor here for the most part don’t want to truly accpet Jesus. That is why I feel a desire to go to Mexico where people are more open. Remember Jesus said that lessed be the poor.
Luke 6:20-Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said: “Blessed are you] poor, For yours is the kingdom of God.
Yes. I love this.