Matthew 10: I Will Go

"These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: "Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. As you go, preach this message: 'The kingdom of heaven is near.' Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy,drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. Do not take along any gold or silver or copper in your belts; take no bag for the journey, or extra tunic, or sandals or a staff; for the worker is worth his keep." Matthew 10:5-10

Jesus sending out his twelve disciples to go preach the gospel and spread the Word is a parallel to Jesus instructing us to go out and doing the same. What's interesting is that Jesus tells us not to go towards the Gentiles or the Samaritans for they have already heard and accepted the Word of God; but he sends us out to the lost, the ones who do not know God. Anyone can talk about God with their church peers without any pressure, but who can really say that it is easy talking to a stranger or your non-believing parents about the love of Jesus Christ who died on the cross for our sins? Jesus is telling us that we must step out of our comfort zones and go out into the mission field where millions of souls are yearning and thirsting for the Truth. This is exactly what missions work is all about! Going one step further, I see two kinds of missions: one that takes place in third world countries and one that takes place locally, right here in our own communities. I believe that the latter is so much more difficult.. Having gone to missions trips for eight years to third world nations and introducing Christ into these poverty-stricken people, it was almost easy as pie to preach the gospel to such people who have nothing else to live on but the Word. But to go back home and talk to my non-believing friends is the most challenging, because we are so spoiled in our luxurious lifestyles and this freedom of speech and religion that we have in the states. Jesus tells us to go forth to the lost sheep of Israel. Who are these lost sheep? To me, they are my old high school friends.. They know who God is, they've experienced His power, yet they have lost sight of all of that and let the world sweep them off their feet. But Jesus wants me to love them--especially them. This is who Jesus Christ is. He is embodiment of true love. He loved especially the lowliest of sinners and help them to their feet like he did with me. I want to be more like Him. We need to be more like Him.