By: Gen. Jim — 11/29/18
December 6, 1971 was our spiritual birthday, I was 26, Deborah (Lila) was 24. Upon giving our lives to Jesus (Seeley Lake, MT.), we both confessed to Him and to one another that we would go wherever and whenever the Spirit directed. We’ve never been ones who ignored the calling of God nor the veracity of the Bible. But our “mission calling” came several years later in 1976, after we had 4 years of Bible school (in Kentucky/Indiana.). We were ready to put our lives on the line for the One who laid His life down for us.
Literally and figuratively the N.T. message is one of life and death. We did not hide from “Go ye into the world and preach the Gospel” (see Matthew 28:19,20). We’ve read many missionary books whereby “death” was front-and-center. We kept in mind that we could very well die while on front-line service; death, we reasoned, is the necessary end of all life, that everyone will die – but when, why, where, and how? We were not ones who kept silence about death; we counted the cost.
When our Pentecostal church sent us to take charge of their Mexico orphanage, we were attacked with malaria in which both of us lay close to death (in and out of consciousness) for over a week. Through the years we both dodged and cheated death, e.g. mishaps, infections, diseases, and all manner of sicknesses. Deborah fought off lift-threatening cancer three times, liver disease and a fly in the leg working its way up towards the heart: it stopped above her hips by aggressive prayer. Many in Africa had died as a result of this black-fly.
As we’ve traveled the world over the past 3 decades we’ve been close to dying many times: from Central/South America to Asia, to Africa, to the Islands of the sea.
When 2 Lt. Brad R. died in Malawi, C. Africa of Malaria, many U.S. churchites considered this to be a crime on our part. How so? We also were subject to Malaria while building a training camp in the mid 1980’s. Hundreds of thousands DIE every year in Africa of “M.” This tragic event was not some strange anomaly, it was common.
We’ve faced many, many hardships and trials that could have ended in death. The humanistic trivializing of front-line work/war inexorably contributes to shying away from missionary work, i.e., Matthew 28:19, 20 command.
We may mock the belief in “go ye into all the world” as an antiquated idea since we now have social media, but cultures need to see real mission work and workers. Many call it “Culture Destroying.” There are religious heavyweights that are content on staying out of the front-line fight as opposed to being in the ring. Such cowardly nonsense emanates from their “pen” as opposed to the “sword” – the Word of God in action. They would rather be involved in saucy gossip rather than to “fight the good fight of faith” (1 Timothy 6:12).
Love has its demand; love requires sacrifice. Just how much do we love the One who died in our place? Enough to die for Him? It is the love of Christ and the love for Christ that challenges our priorities, our loves. Most who profess to be “Christian,” their lives micro-cosmically reflect their moods and lack of action. You see, we could have stayed within the confines of our church giving intellectual assent to what NEEDS TO BE DONE. After all we had passed in flying colors 4 years of “training.” Together we could join the equilibrations of “forces” with “theory,” not “experience.” We chose experience – and we’ve paid dearly for doing so.
Paul challenges his readers: “… and how shall they preach unless they are sent?” (Echoing Matthew 28:19,20), Romans 10:15. He continues with, “As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel… who bring glad tidings…’” FEET! GO! NOT SIT!
Today’s church scene is more interested in music, drama, paradox, humor, change.” The pandering to the homosexual movement/Me Too movement etc. The believers are more transfixed with social media than “taking Jesus to ALL the world,” our hash tag.
Aunguttara Nikaya penned: “Warriors, warriors we call ourselves. We fight for splendid virtue, for high endeavor, for sublime wisdom, therefore we call ourselves warriors.” The world fights for what they believe in whereas the “Christians” (with exceptions of course) live in a state of religious disorder, i.e. “fritz;” plagued with spiritual dyslexia today’s churchites have a difficulty in reading/understanding the Bible. They understand the word “go” as “stop;” “faith” as “fritz.”
While I’m aware that not all can go, many that can don’t! But we all can be a living witness even in prison or jail.