Friday: Further Study – Missionary Nature of God
We have dealt with some aspects of the missionary nature of God. Mission is an enterprise of the triune God. Mission is predominantly related to Jesus Christ, whose Incarnation is central to Christian faith and mission. By His life and death, Jesus has paved the way for the salvation of all the human race.
Image © Krieg Barrie from GoodSalt.com
We as His followers, His missionaries, have to let people know the good news of just what Jesus has done for them.
The church of Christ on earth was organized for missionary purposes, and the Lord desires to see the entire church devising ways and means whereby high and low, rich and poor, may hear the message of truth. Not all are called to personal labor in foreign fields, but all can do something by their prayers and their gifts to aid the missionary work.
-Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 6, p. 29.
Discussion Questions:
- Think more about the question of origins. Why do origins matter? How does a proper understanding of our origins help us better to understand who we are and what the purpose of our existence really is?
- How does the following quote help us to understand the existence of free will, love, and evil in our world?
Thus, if God wants to create loving creatures (in imitation of his perfect love), God has to create free beings who can cause suffering and evil in the world by their choices. The dynamics of love and freedom require that God allow us the latitude to grow in love through our human freedom. God’s only alternative to allowing free beings to choose unloving acts is to completely refrain from creating loving creatures.
-Robert J. Spitzer, New Proofs for the Existence of God: Contributions of Contemporary Physics and Philosophy, Kindle Edition (Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2010), p. 233. - The death of Jesus was a single act that occurred in a small nation amid the vast Roman Empire almost two thousand years ago. Yet, this act is of eternal significance for every human being. What responsibility rests on us, who know about this act and what it means, to tell those who don’t know about it? How else will they learn of it if those who know about it don’t tell them?
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Wow. We're really "cornered", if we don't share the WORD in some way. A tangible way. Exclusive of witnessing the WORD through our lives only. This, contrary to popular, Christian practice beliefs. Hmmmm!