My friend, brother and Missionary for 30+ years……..
Maken Sanglir
Makes this statement often!
GO and SEE!
I would add……….and
Taste and Smell and Touch and Hear!!!
But why don’t Rich Americans do it?
Over the years, I have gotten many responses…….
I don’t have the money! (but I have over a million bucks in my 401k…..which is why I am retired at 60)
Too many people need help in the US!
I am called to the US…..no question about it.
My wife won’t go!
My husband won’t go!
Where can I send the check?
There is nothing I can do!
I don’t have a skill.
The Poor will always be with us!
I only have 2 weeks a year for vacation.
“I don’t have or feel the calling.
I must save for retirement. (its gonna take at least one mil to retire til 95 at my required lifestyle)
Too risky to fly these days…….
But what’s the real root cause?
I think there is more than one root cause.
Fear is a big one….fear of the unknown…..
Fear of catching a disease and dying or getting killed by terrorists….
Thank God the disciples and Paul understood perfect love…
But what about 1 John 4:18???
“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.
For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.”
Matthew 28:19 is not referring to me…..Jesus told his 11 disciples to Go, not me.
One friend recently told me that he thought people did not Go because they just don’t know!
They don’t understand the needs……………the lost hope for living without the Gospel, the depression, the demonic oppression, the blindness, the poverty,
the lack of education and the lack of tools for education, the lack of medical, the lack of jobs, etc.
He might be partially correct………..
And so the need for this blog and others to communicate the Needs…
But I don’t really buy that excuse as the main reason!
You’ve got to be deaf, dumb and blind not to hear and see the suffering in this godless world, every day!!!
To quote David Platt again…..
The question, therefore, is not “Can we find God’s will?” The question is “Will we obey God’s will?” Will we refuse to sit back and wait for some tingly feeling to go down our spines before we rise up and do what we have already been commanded to do? Will we risk everything— our comfort, our possessions, our safety, our security, our very lives— to make the gospel known among unreached peoples? Such rising up and such risk taking are the unavoidable, urgent results of a life that is radically abandoned to Jesus.
Platt, David (2010-04-17). Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream (p. 160). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
But we are seeking that American Dream, building that 401k, living the good life of comfort and wealth and safety.
And we agree with Roosevelt when he said Americans will postpone immediate gratification when they believe their future will be better than their past……(that’s why we work our asses off 60 hrs a week for 45 years to build that 401k)
But is that the sacrifice that Jesus is referring to???
Platt makes it clear to me…..
In similar words Jesus said to his followers, “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” Jesus clearly acknowledged that following him involves risking the safety, security, and satisfaction we have found in this world. But in the end, Jesus said, following him leads to a radical reward that this world can never offer. This begs a question from each of us: do we believe the reward found in Jesus is worth the risk of following him?
Platt, David (2010-04-17). Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream (pp. 161-162). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
I believe the answer for many American Christians is “NO”!
First of all, the world, especially the American World, offers a sweet reward…..
much sweeter than catching malaria in a rice patty.
Second of all, don’t you watch the news, Man? This is a crazy world!! Its too damn risky!
I have a wife and kids and grandkids. I want to watch them grow up!
And I believe this….. is the real root cause……We really don’t take this stuff as serious as Jesus meant it!!
We do not believe the Word of God is for Us……Today……for Now!!!
I have found my life and it ain’t on the streets of Yangon!
It ain’t worth the risk, the pain and suffering, the loss of my wealth!!
What do you think Jesus meant?