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“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:19-20 English Standard Version

Why leave the comfort of your home, travel thousands of miles in a crowded airplane, subject yourself to the bites of a thousand mosquitoes, and pay good money to do so? Some of you are asking that question because you’d never leave on such a journey.

That’s okay.

We might have some very good reasons for not going on a short-term mission trip deep into the Peruvian jungle. We might not have the money. We might be allergic to mosquitoes. We might be deathly afraid of flying. We might not be able to survive without running water.

I repeat, that’s okay.

Ahuaypa, Peru

Yet, there are many reasons why some of us chose to leave our homes and jump on a plane to spend a few days in the Peruvian jungle. Some of us are driven by our sense of adventure, and others by our compassion for children. Some of us want to make a difference by building a place of worship, and others want to support those who are strengthening the body of Christ in a place that is often forgotten.

The reason we go is rooted in Christ’s invitation. Whether walk across the street to our neighbors or travel across the planet, we do it because of Christ’s invitation. He invites us to “go…and make disciples”, that is, he invites us to use our spiritual gifts and physical talents to make an impact in his world.

His world is where you live, and his world is where people DON’T have cell phones. His world is where people dwell in million dollar homes, and his world is where people sleep on the floor of their two-walled homes. It’s ALL his world. And it is into his world that we go.

For some of us that means traveling thousands of miles away from our comfort zone, for others it means walking across the street. Jesus didn’t say how far we had to go, but that we’re simply called to go. As Jesus left his throne in heaven to redeem people, so we go to live, breath and speak this story of redemption.

Our motive for accepting Jesus’ invitation is the same for all of us. We go because God loves the world. He loves the people across the street. He loves the people across the world. He loves you and me.

Love is the answer for all who are clothed with Christ.

Copyright 2015