A Life in Mission

I wake, but my eyes still feel like sleeping. Rubbing my eyes, I begin reading from Testimonies Volume 5. Suddenly I’m wide awake! The words are strong!

“Christ pleased not Himself.” He did nothing for Himself; His work was in behalf of fallen man. Selfishness stood abashed in His presence… He withheld nothing, not even His own honor and heavenly glory…

Christ’s interests and those of His followers should be one; but the world would judge that they are separate and distinct, for those who claim to be Christ’s pursue their own ends as eagerly, and waste their substance as selfishly, as nonprofessors. Worldly prosperity comes first; nothing is made equal to this. The cause of Christ must wait till they gather a certain portion for themselves. They must increase their gains at all hazards. Souls must perish without a knowledge of the truth. Of what value is a soul for whom Christ died in comparison with their gains, their merchandise, their houses and lands? Souls must wait till they get prepared to do something. God calls these servers of Mammon slothful and unfaithful servants, but Mammon boasts of them as among his most diligent and devoted servants. They sacrifice their Lord’s goods to ease and enjoyment. Self is their idol. {5T 204.3}

“Self is their idol”! Ouch! But I know it’s true… I’ve made self first too many times. I’ve made decisions based on what I wanted, instead of what God has asked of me… But she continues;

Doing nothing to bring souls to Jesus, who sacrificed everything to bring salvation within our reach! Selfishness is driving benevolence and the love of Christ from the church. Millions of the Lord’s money are squandered in the gratification of worldly lust, while His treasury is left empty. I know not how to present this matter before you as it was presented to me. Thousands of dollars are spent every year in gratifying pride of dress. That very means should be used in our missions. I was shown families who load their tables with almost every luxury and gratify almost every desire for fine clothes. They are engaged in a prosperous business, or are earning good wages, but nearly every dollar is expended upon themselves or their families. Is this imitating Christ? What burden do these feel to carefully economize and deny inclination that they may do more to advance the work of God on earth? Should Elder Andrews have the advantage of some of the means thus needlessly expended, it would be a great blessing to him and give him advantages which would prolong his life. The missionary work might be enlarged a hundredfold if there were more means to employ in carrying out larger plans. {5T 205.1}

It’s true… Perhaps we so often gratify self that we don’t even recognize it! How often have we gotten something trivial for ourselves, while God’s workers, especially those in foreign fields languish for want of resources to do His work?

Why is it so hard to live like Christ? Is it perhaps that we haven’t taken a close look? He pleased not Himself. He didn’t live for himself in a single part of His life. His life was a life of sacrifice, of service to others. Do we have the same experience? Are we willing to? Lord help us!

I read the words on the page…  they jump out at me with force. Roberts Speer makes an important point…

What constitutes a missionary call? It is a good sign that men ask this question. First, because it suggests that they think of the missionary enterprise as singularly related to the will of God. Second, because it indicates that they believe their lives are owned by a Person who has a right to direct them and whose call they must await.

…

Christians will pursue a profession here in the United States having demanded far less positive assurance that this is God’s will than it is for them to go out into the mission field. But by what right do they make such distinctions?

…

If men are going to draw lines of division between different kinds of service, what preposterous reasoning leads them to think that it requires less divine sanction for a man to spend his life easily among Christians than it requires for him to go out as a missionary to the heathen? If men are to have special calls for anything, they ought to have special calls to go about their own business, to have a nice time all their lives, to choose the soft places, to make money, and to gratify their own ambitions.

How can any honest Christian say he must have a special call not to do that sort of thing? How can he say that, unless he gets some specific call of God to preach the Gospel to the heathen, he has a perfect right to spend his life lining his pockets with money? Is it not absurd to suggest that a special call is necessary to become a missionary, but no call is required to gratify his own will or personal ambitions?

I read on… How I wish we as members of our church would do differently!

This whole business of asking for special calls to missionary work does violence to the Bible. There is the command, “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” We say, “That means other people.” There is the promise, “Come unto Me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.” We say, “That means me.” We must have a special divine indication that we fall under the command; we do not ask any special divine indication that we fall under the blessing. By what right do we draw this line of distinction between the obligations of Christianity and its privileges? By what right do we accept the privileges as applying to every Christian and relegate its obligations to the conscience of the few?

A good question isn’t it? It’s a question that God will ask us in the judgment. It’s a question that will show if we are faithful or not… Thank God for the brother who wrote these words. Will we apply God’s mandate to our lives? or only the blessing?