Share this
‘Missions’ is the heartbeat of God. I grew up studying missionary biographies. I would stack them on my bookshelf. I would look at bookshelves when I visited homes. Books catch my attention more than anything, even now for many reasons. Among the genres that I read, biographical stories are my favorite.
I was born and raised in Ballari, Karnataka, a dry land area of South India. Among the heritage factors that my city holds, Bible translation remains historical and eternal. Rev. John Hands translated the English Bible to Kannada and partly also into Telugu languages (which are regional languages) in 1831. The word ‘missionary’ was etched in my heart from my childhood. Their adventures, their sacrifices, their faith in God, their commitments, their lifestyles, and their zeal and passion to see the work of God in foreign lands always inspired me. I wanted to be a missionary someday.
When Jesus Christ commissioned His disciples, ‘“Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation (Mk 16:15)’, He made the world as a field. The good news of Jesus Christ is not to be confined to a state, land, or people, it is for everyone everywhere. My early memory picks up the life story of David Livingstone, the African trailblazer for God. And how now Africa is bubbling with the gospel explosion and lives being changed, is but a connection to the work of a missionary.
‘After this, I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands (Rev 7:9),’ is a panoramic view of God about us in heaven. We have the responsibility to take the message of Jesus to the world. God wants you to be saved from the mastery of sin over your life. Jesus is the only way (Jn 14:6). His second coming depends on missions. A missionary can transform communities and nations. You too can be a missionary. Just carry the message of Jesus. It is God’s heartbeat!