More than a Missionary

This weekend I got to be part of an amazing conference at my church. It was based around medical missions so of course the auditorium was filled with doctors and health practitioners. Which was... interesting, considering how many jokes went over my head. But I knew from the moment I heard about this conference that it would be amazing. And it was- even more than I had expected.

Most of the people who spoke at this conference are missionary healthcare professionals. As in, people who have literally practiced medicine overseas for decades. Many of them live in remote third-world villages, most on very little pay. And even though healthcare isn't for me (I decided that a long time ago) I don't have words to describe to you how humbled and inspired I was by these speakers.

These are people living in obscurity. People most of us will never hear about. They have no large social media followings, no fame or money or prestige. But they're changing the world. They're living out what Jesus commanded us to do. To the letter.

It was such a reality check for me. I've always seen missions as something that's going to be a part of my life. The idea of living in a third-world country for decades doesn't scare me. It excites me. It might scare me more to never get to live that. I even look at my dating life through that perspective, wondering if I should ever consider dating anyone who doesn't have it on their heart to be a missionary (that's a whole other blog post...).

But life is different for me right now. Don't get me wrong, I know I am where I'm supposed to be. I believe God brought me to the job I have now, and I am enjoying it completely. But the question of how missions will one day play out in my story always lives at the back of my mind. And this conference really brought it back to the forefront.

At the end of the day, missions is just a word. But it represents true love and life the way Jesus intended. One of my favorite quotes from one of the conference speakers was this one: "Jesus didn't go on mission trips. Jesus lived life on mission."

How powerful, and how true. Jesus was a missionary everywhere He went. His life was about bringing hope to the hopeless, about seizing every opportunity to heal the broken, and to share God's love and light. If my life could only be half of what some of these speakers' lives have been, that would be incredible. But it doesn't even have to be overseas. It can be here, amidst the concrete jungles and crowded freeways, in the school hallways and grocery aisles.

Because at the end of the day, the most beautiful and purposeful thing we can be a part of isn't really called "missions." It's called love. It's called compassion and sacrifice and truth. And that's what I want my life to be about.

#christian #2016 #missions