|
His Plans and Ours
by Stanley McMahon We had half an hour to spend at the end of the day. I was on a training course in a call centre. Those words will strike chords of familiarity with some of you, while others of you will have to imagine the scene. This is the environment where the ice-breakers and silly games and endless and meaningless information meld into a fuzzy, boredom-inducing desire to long for the next break. Well the next break was home-time, and the trainer decided that the time remaining would be best used by playing an interactive game. Each person was asked in turn which three people they would love to invite to dinner and explain why. Of course most people chose celebrities they had long admired. Typically, they wanted to ask them questions about their wardrobe, their habits and such like. But Edward chose differently. His first two were like the rest, not exactly memorable. His third guest, much to the surprise of everyone in the room, was Jesus. His reason was simple. He wanted to ask Jesus, 'Why?' Edward's answer got me thinking. He was not a believer, but he still saw that the One he should turn to if he wanted some ultimate questions answered was Jesus. Jesus is, of course, for us the focal point of all history as well as the author and founder of our faith, and so much more besides. But He is also the One who draws all men to Himself. Sixty years ago two men saw that the church in the West was going in a dangerous direction. Cameron Townsend, the industrious founder of Wycliffe and JAARS, as well as many other ventures, agreed with Donald McGavran, a third generation missionary statesman in India, that the wrong interpretation was being put on 'reaching all nations'. The churches and missionary societies had been patting themselves on the back and basically saying, 'Well, Jesus can come back anytime. Our job is done. We have reached all the nations with the Gospel.' McGavran and Townsend begged to differ and looked again at the Great Commission. Graham Cheesman, ex-principal of the Belfast Bible College and missiologist explains, 'As missions moved inland and into the various continents, the idea came about that with the evangelisation of individual nations coming about through pioneer missionary work, there was no longer any need for missionaries as the Great Commission had been fulfilled'. McGavran himself, in a rebuttal of the theory that the job was done said this, 'Far from the mission era drawing to a close, it is just beginning. We stand in the sunrise of evangelization.' Sixty years on and we are still not finished the task, but we are getting closer. The task of world evangelisation is still there. Maybe we are at the mid-day point rather than the sunrise, but the charge of the Great Commission is unchanged and valid for every believer. It is the challenge that Jesus lays before us today: to prioritise His Kingdom above all else and usher in His second coming. I never got the chance to speak to Edward again about the Man he wanted to invite to his table. But I know that He is pursuing Edward as He draws him to Himself and moves towards the ultimate goal of reigning in glory. He is wholly committed to the goal of world evangelisation and the Father is fully committed to uniting all things under Christ (Ephesians 1:10). Don't get left behind. (Pun intended). If His plans are not your plans, you need to reprioritise. Think about it. Long-time writer, life-time learner and happily married for nearly twenty-seven years. I am inspired by life and my bottom-line is faith that works. Live in Northern Ireland and engaged in church work full-time. Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |