Monday, October 10, 2011

Why "Scarred Hands"?

I once heard Paul Washer, a former missionary and current itinerant speaker, speak at a missions conference where young some obedient Christians were being commissioned into foreign missions. I'll never forget what he said:
"Mission has two categories; those who go down into the well and those who hold the rope (goers and senders)....You are either called to go down into the well, or hold the rope for those who go down.  Either way, there will be scars on your hands.  Where are your scars?  What has it cost you to fulfill The Great Commission?"
I heard this before I felt the calling of God to be a missionary to a foreign land. Besides convicting me of my lack of giving to support the work of missions around the world, it opened my eyes to the fact that not only are the "goers" fulfilling the great commission, but so too are the "senders." Recently, I was looking at some blogs of current missionaries. One comment by Clay Kannard stuck out to me. He said:
"Every Christian is not called to be a missionary. However, every Christian is called to the mission, the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20). Those that are called to be missionaries depend on the mission being accomplished back home. It is the Christians at home that help support missionaries with their prayer, finances and encouragement. Christians that are not crossing borders still impact the world as they pursue Christ, seek the lost, and support missionaries that are called across those borders. We are called to do the mission well, and as we do, we can trust that we will win, because Jesus already has and He is our King."
The church is a body. The body is called to "Go." In this instance, Celia and I are the feet. Our supporters, you, are the hands. Together, we move in unison to bring glory to our Christ. One body, one faith, one mission and goal, one reward...one cost, scarred hands.