Church missions. Evangelism. Outreach. The Great Commission.
These ideas are not limited to the New Testament church. Today I listened to a sermon on Psalm 67. Verses 1-3 state, “God be merciful to us and bless us, and cause His face to shine upon us, Selah. That Your way may be known on earth, Your salvation among all nations.” Outreach to all nations was the plan from the beginning. One way this was to be accomplished was by others observing the actions of and subsequent blessings on the Jewish people. The psalmist wants Gods ways to be known through the victorious living of his distinct people.
God does want us to be intentional and decisive about our involvement in missions- both at home and internationally. However, our unintentional actions also affect God’s mission. God’s ways are made known through our actions. We need to make sure we are good ambassadors for him.
As a parent, I often exhort my children to, “Be a good example.” I want them to be a good example to their siblings, and to any other child they may be interacting with. As Christians, God wants the same from us. We need to be a “good example” to reach those around us- especially our families, co-workers, and friends. From there, we should grow into being a “good example” to those outside our personal bubble. When our children follow our family “laws” and “ways”, despite the activity going on around them, we feel confident that our family has been well represented. When the behavior of our children influences others for good, we can be especially pleased at the outcome. We may even go so far as to praise or reward the child who has been faithful to our instruction. Think how much more joy it brings God to be able to bless his faithful children. His blessings are not for us to squander, but for us to use as a witness to others. Demonstrating God’s ways is more than being a “good example”; demonstrating God’s ways brings others to the saving knowledge of the one true God. Salvation for all nations.