There are thousands of missions and ministries every day that strive to fulfill their calling. Feeding the poor, providing love and direction to underprivileged children, building schools and digging wells are all part of the greater calling that Christians have in what the Bible calls the Great Commission. Before He ascended to heaven, Yeshua commissioned His followers to go into the world and tell everyone about Him, to spread the Gospel (good news) that mankind could now be reconciled to God because He finished the work of atonement on the cross.
Although many Christians do this work because of a sense of calling, that they feel compelled to do so which will bring fulfillment to their lives, ultimately we share the Gospel because we are commanded to. Yeshua tells His disciples that all authority in heaven and earth had been given to Him and He then commands the disciples to go. By virtue of the resurrection, we know that He is the God of heaven and the creator of the universe and has the legitimate right to direct our lives. Therefore, our primary reason for preaching the Gospel is because we obey our Master out of love for what He has done for us. The shedding of His blood and the wrath of God that was poured out on Him saves us from that fate and He did that for us without any cost to us.
In today’s society, there is much focus on individualism and independence, that we should follow the dictates of our hearts. Yet the Lord’s challenge to us in John 14:15 says that if we say we love Him, we will demonstrate our love by obeying His commands. Feelings have no bearing on obedience. We go because we should, because we must. God has called many people throughout history to represent Him. He took Moses out of the palace in Egypt only to send him back to deliver the Israelites from bondage. He inquired of Isaiah who He should send and when Isaiah accepted the calling, God told him to proclaim a message that the people weren’t going to listen to. Jeremiah complained that he wasn’t up to the task because he was too young and couldn’t speak well. Jonah even tried running the other way and only accepted his mission grudgingly after God made a very convincing case with aquatic help. Yeshua Himself demonstrates the ultimate act of obedience when it says “He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Phil 2:8). In every case, the messenger went at great personal expense because he was sent.
As we all struggle to get the message out that Yeshua loves humanity and died so that they should not, we need to remember that we are obeying the Lord who sent us and if He sent us, He has destined us to success, however He defines that for our lives. Go!