I've now pretty much finished my mission study curriculum on Haiti, and it was one of the hardest I've ever written. As I researched I often became depressed, there is such need there, as there is in so many other countries.
Then I would see elaborate sets on TV shows, and I kept asking myself, "Why do we spend millions of dollars on entertainment and not recognize God's call for us to bring the kingdom here to earth by caring for others?"
When I was young my parents had hoped to become missionaries, but were not accepted because of some health situations. My mother wanted to be a missionary from the time she was young, and she certainly did mission work out of our home. But she told me that she was always afraid that everyone would learn about Christ before she grew up and could go into the mission field! And look how far we are now from teaching everyone about Christ's way.
Thankfully, however, missionaries today work toward bringing Christ's way of living to those they work with instead of just instructing them to believe in Christ and be "saved". We must recognize that, though salvation is important, Christ's main message was to care for those who were hungry and in need. Matthew said it well in chapter 25, verses 42-45.
Too often in Christian education we get so hung up on teaching the contents of the Bible that we forget to teach how to apply the message of Jesus to our world today - to ALL of God's world.
