Which way are you heading? (some thoughts on Ada Lum and The Great Commission)

Ada Lum is a Hawaiian of Chinese descent and a retired Bible teacher. Lately I've been reading one of her books, A Hitchhiker's Guide to Missions [Published in 1984 whether or not she chose the title of her book I'm sure her editor insisted on titling it so based on the popularity of Douglas Adams' wildly popular A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy] and frankly I'm a bit uncomfortable. She takes a theological concept like "The Great Commission" and makes me feel it's imperative in a whole new way.

Like: 

"When we begin to think about missions, the basic question we should ask is not, 'Should I be a missionary?' Rather the question we should ask is, 'How should I be involved in God's world mission?' This question can be answered in any number of ways, and the answer may be different at one time in your life from another. We must remain constantly open to God." (p. 11)

Reflecting on the Great Commission, Michael J. Wilkins remarks that there is this odd notion that there are two kinds of believers in God's church  - the real, committed ones (i.e., disciples) and everyone else. It's a false dichotomy. In his words, "It is just that some are obedient disciples, while others are not." That is to say, the Great Commission is your mission as it is mine.

Or:

"It is far more important to have a deep personal conviction that God is sending you into the world, acknowledged by other responsible people, than to know which part of the world, what you should pack in your suitcase, and which make of refrigerator will best stand in a tropical climate. This kind of conviction might even cause you to leave the fridge behind." (p. 22)

The famous last words of Jesus noted in Matthew's Gospel is an acknowledgment that he is Lord of all (As the Passion Translation's version of it begins: "All authority in the universe has been given to me..."). If we are living and breathing whether we signed up for it or not we are now apart of the Risen Savior's great worldwide campaign to make a Church of the whole wide world. So as certainly as Sarah, a local young woman from our town, is preparing her heart and packing her bags to head to India to serve Jesus there, Jesus has sent each and every one of us into our neighborhood to make his name known. The question to ask ourselves is,  Do we believe this?

And:

"Jesus called the Twelve (or at least the fishermen among them) to follow him not just once, but many times (Mk 1:16-20; Lk 5:1-11; Jn 6:66-69; Mk 10:23-31; Lk 22:24-34; Jn 21:15-22). Apparently these fishermen had returned to their lake business after Jesus' first call. They may have followed him intermittently, perhaps when it was conveniently sandwiched between good hauls of fish."

"But Jesus, a persistent fisherman himself, caught them again – and again. He did not let the big ones get away. How this has encouraged me through the years of my discipleship and service! I would not be writing this book if the Lord had given me up as a lost cause after my first weak commitment – or my second or my hundredth. He keeps calling us to deeper commitment to himself. That's why I like this definition: Christians are people who give all they know of themselves to all that they know of Jesus Christ. This definition allows infinite room for growth on both tracks." (pp. 39-40)

So long as we think of "missions" as a cause "over there" (e.g., "over in Barron among the Somali", "up on the Rez among the Native Americans", "over seas") we fail to acknowledge Jesus' lordship on our lives and how he is calling us at this particular moment to participate in his mission. Forget about the exotic for now and worrying about airline tickets. The Holy Spirit may be simply imploring us to walk across the street and become acquainted with our neighbor. And that's a real question to ask yourself: "Do I know my neighbors' names?",  "Do I know their kids' names?" , "Do I know what they do for a living?" , "Am I praying regularly for them, whether they profess Christian faith or not?" 

Finally:

"The Lord has far more confidence in us than we have in him, because he knows not only our foolish ways but also the good things that he has built into us. His Holy Spirit is living in these bodies of ours. While it is important to consider committing ourselves to Jesus Christ, it is staggering that he, God Almighty, has already committed himself to us." (pp. 43-44)

Let's not think too much on how ineffective of a communicator we may be. As the Lord once said to Moses who raised just that objection: “And who do you think made the human mouth? And who makes some mute, some deaf, some sighted, some blind? Isn’t it I, God? So, get going. I’ll be right there with you—with your mouth! I’ll be right there to teach you what to say" (Ex 4:11-12, Msg). Our goal in interacting with our neighbors is not to find a way to get them to church (although, that could happen). Rather, it's to find a way to love our neighbor as ourselves because that's what good neighbors do, especially those who believe Jesus has sent them into all the world including Fifth Street, Ninth Street and Seventh Street (in Chetek) or 280th Street (in New Auburn) to testify of who He is and all that He has done. 

The Great Commission does not just apply to those signing up for missionary service pverseas. It's the mission - in fact, the only mission - of the Church of Jesus. And if I'm not living with that mindset it reveals that I don't truly understand God's heart which is for all the peoples of the earth.