The Greater Story

BIG Idea: We have a part to play in the greater story of history.

Do our lives really impact the greater narrative of history? Are mission trips anything more than glorified ‘spiritual vacations’? Do we have any part to play in the end of the world? These three unique yet connected questions came together for me several years ago in a Bible verse that changed the way I lived my life.

Last November, I did a sermon series where I walked the church through five life verses that shaped and formed me. If you look at the last few Wednesday posts, you’ll see them. Of all my life verses, this one is dominant. This one shaped not only a season of my life but the whole trajectory of my destiny.

The verse is towards the end of Matthew when Jesus is prophesying about the end of the world: “And this gospel will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:14 This single verse changed the way I looked at the world. Many of the prophesies about the end of the world concern cataclysmic events outside of our control. This verse is not. This verse is a simple statement that Christians have a job to do (testify to the gospel of Jesus in all nations). When that job is done, the world will end. Here’s how it changed me:

• What I did mattered. No longer was I a passive watcher in the events of history. My actions could literally help bring about the end of the world. It empowered me with a sense of purpose.
• I had ‘skin’ in the game. My obedience or disobedience had an impact on the end of history. As a missions professor told me once, “Your generation is alive today because of the disobedience of the previous generation of believers.”
• I tapped into the greater story of history. Suddenly, my life was more than simply getting a paycheck and watching the dates on a calendar fly by. I could do something with my life that mattered.

This verse drove me overseas for two years as a missionary. As much as I wanted to stay, God made it clear to me that he wanted me to minister in the U.S. So here I am, serving in Mississippi and loving it. Yet at the same time, my heart and vision will always be towards the ends of the earth. The reason I minister in Mississippi is to inspire and mobilize hundreds of Christians to do their part to see the name of Christ preached to all nations and help bring about the end of the world.

What is your life about?

QUESTION: Have you ever had a missions experience that gave you a bigger view of God’s purpose in the world?

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