I just read the prayer letter from some dear friends. The husband is planning a trip to the Philippines to help a missionary there and encourage some others. At the close of his letter he had a photo of a tribal man with this written underneath.
"Over 100 people groups have asked for missionaries and are waiting!"
What a sad state in which we are living. People are asking for missionaries to come and teach them about God! Why aren't they going? Where are they?
Today in North America Christians are wealthier than they have ever been. They own homes, 2-3 cars, have time-shares, and are taking the most extravagant vacations they can afford. Why? Because, "we have earned it." The money that is given to the Church is used for making the place where we worship more comfortable and providing the things we need for "ministry here at home." Take a look at almost any Church Budget in North America and that which is set aside for missions is pathetic.
The problem is that we don't believe people are really going to hell. We don't believe that people really have a need for a Saviour. We don't believe what the Bible is saying. We don't believe God. We have become selfish and are "looking out for number 1!"
We've lost the view of the Church from just over 100 years ago; the time when they sent out missionaries like Hudson Taylor, Amy Carmichael and George Muller. A time when people gave sacrificially because they knew there was a lost world around them and they could not sit idly by.
I pray that we may have a change of heart; that we would see the world the way God sees it. Our eyes would be opened to the sinful state around us and that we would be brought to our knees in repentance and then be willing to do whatever and/or go wherever He wants us. May the Lord wake us up from this sleep that we have chosen. May it even begin today with me.
