In an upcoming social media post that you'll see in the coming days, we are posting the caption: "The spirit of Christ is the spirit of missions. The nearer we get to Him, the more intense of a missionary we become." As part of the editing team I wasn't 100% convinced of this statement.
So, I decided to reach out to some long-term, incredibly thoughtful missionaries at our campus to ask them their opinion. What I got as a response was quite incredible.
The first section of responses that were messaged back to me included these passages:
"Now, Jesus had not yet come into the village but was still in the place where Martha met Him. Then the Jews who were with her in the house and consoling her, when they saw that Mary got up quickly and went out followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. Therefore, when Mary came where Jesus was, she saw Him and fell at His feet, saying to Him, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died."
"When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled and said, Where have you laid him? They said to Him, Lord, come and see. Jesus wept. So the Jews were saying, See how He loved him!'" John 11:30-36
"When Jesus had said this, He became troubled in spirit and testified and said, "Truly, Truly, I say to you, that one of you will betray Me." John 13:21
"Immediately Jesus, aware in His spirit that they were reasoning that way within themselves, said to them, Why are you reasoning about these things in your hearts?'" Mark 2:8
My friend continued sharing after sending me those passages. "In these verses, spirit means the disposition or influence which fills and governs the soul of anyone. The efficient source of any power, affection, emotion, desire, etc". (Strong's concordance)
"So looking at the statement in question, 'The spirit of Christ is the spirit of missions,' I would say His disposition and source of affection, emotion, and desire are toward the lost⏤missions.The spirit of Christ is the internal part of Him. It is that which moved Him to have compassion for those in need.
They went on to say, "I recall the statement by Bob Pierce, founder of World Vision, 'Let my heart be broken by the things that break the heart of God.' The closer we get to the Lord, the more we feel His desire to reach the lost."
With this in our arsenal, we will be posting to social next week with confidence. It seems to me then, following Jesus and stepping into missions are synonymous. Perhaps stepping into any arena where the compassion of Jesus to win the lost is at the forefront of your mind, it is in essence walking in the spirit of Jesus.
Ready to take the next step in your personal discipleship and experience life-changing missions?