By Savannah Ly
“Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did,” the woman urged her fellow townspeople. “Can this be the Christ?” (John 4:29). A Jewish man who supernaturally knew everything about her had started a conversation with her, a Samaritan woman. Even if her people disliked her, how could she keep his loving acceptance and the possibility that he was the Messiah to herself?
1) The World Needs Good News
Moved by Jesus’ love and excited that the Messiah may have arrived, the Samaritan woman believed that Jesus was good news—news too good not to share. As Christians, we have good news. Jesus delivered us from sin, bringing us into a relationship with God and giving us joy and peace.
In a world of sin and suffering, others need this good news. When we do missions work, God works through us to bring healing to the hurting.
2) Missions is Part of Our Identity
Not only do people need the good news we have, but missions is part of our identity in Christ. 1 Peter 2:9 declares, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” God made us “a people for his own possession” to tell others of his “excellencies”, one of those being the sacrifice he made to save us.
3) Missions is Part of Our Faith
By putting faith in Christ for salvation, we’ve entrusted him with our lives. If so, we should also trust him enough to obey his command to “go into all the world and proclaim the gospel” (Mark 16:15). Missions is inseparable from our faith.
Proclaiming the Gospel isn’t just important because we’re commanded to do it. God uses us to bring the good news of Jesus to those who need a Savior. It’s rooted in the identity God gave us and it comes hand in hand with our faith in Christ. Whether at home or abroad, missions work can be daunting, but our all-powerful Lord is with us as we live out our God-given identity and faith.
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