Several months ago, in our M3 Update, I wrote about the church’s one true motivation for taking the Good News of Jesus to the remaining 3.2 billion people in the world who have never had an opportunity to hear it. That motivation — an agape (God-like love) for all people based on God’s amazing grace for us all. Other motives for ministry that are not grounded in this kind of love will most assuredly wane and fail to accomplish any sustained impact. If interested in reading the article, you can CLICK HERE.
But there is another aspect to this kind of motivation that creates an inconvenient truth for believers: Jesus expects us to extend agape even to our enemies. The Bible is clear, as bearers of God’s own image, every human being on the planet has value and should be deemed worthy of the life God created for. Proclaiming and demonstrating His love for our “neighbors,” locally and globally, is a calling every Christian must embrace and be willing to lay down their own life for.
Need an inspirational example of what this kind of agape looks like in action? A friend of mine in North Africa told me about Ibrahim (not his real name), a church planter in that region who was raised Muslim. Ibrahim chose to leave Islam in his mid-40’s after hearing about Jesus’ unconditional love for him. After serving as a church-planter apprentice, his passion for reaching Muslims leads him to risk his life on a daily basis.
Ibrahim’s story now is similar to most church planters. My friend told me, “Ibrahim works several jobs working 10 – 12 hours daily hauling, lifting, shoveling, or whatever else someone will pay him to do. While working, he is always looking for opportunities to share the gospel. And when Friday evening comes, he packs a few belongings including his Bible and a sleeping mat, and rides his motorcycle into areas where he knows the Good News of Jesus has never been preached. By God’s grace, Ibrahim has led hundreds to Christ and has started multiple house churches.”
Knowing there are frontline workers like Ibrahim around the world should encourage all of us to follow Jesus more boldly. And, speaking on behalf of myself and M3 Global, I can enthusiastically say that we are more determined than ever to help indigenous workers like him in accomplishing the mission God has given them.
Our hope and prayer is to be instruments in God’s hands to bring hope and salvation to anyone who chooses to receive it. But to receive it, they must first know about it. As God tells us through the Apostle Paul:
