On a mission. . .

Here are two of Webster's Definitions for the word Mission -
2 a : a ministry commissioned by a religious organization to propagate its faith or carry on humanitarian work b : assignment to or work in a field of missionary enterprise c (1) : a mission establishment (2) : a local church or parish dependent on a larger religious organization for direction or financial support d plural : organized missionary work e : a course of sermons and services given to convert the un-churched or quicken Christian faith
4 a : a specific task with which a person or a group is charged.

(All color and emphasis mine).

Webster's definition for Missionary (noun) -
:a person undertaking a mission and especially a religious mission.

America may be one of the most missionary rich countries in the world (as far as i have seen). Of course that depends on what i mean by missionary. We tend to attach the word religion or religious to the word missionary, and rightly so we should. We should not however confuse religion and doctrine. We train ourselves up and polish our Christian vocabulary and blow the dust of off our bibles and then we, as good religious folk, go out on mission trips.
i would wager that when we leave to go on our trips we leave 'religion free'. It is on the trips that we find religion. James told us this is so: "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in there distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."
Religion is not the gospel that we spread or the rituals or rules or programs that we share. Religion is what we do or in some cases learn to do. It has been my experience that we often leave with doctrine and discover religion when we enter places that are impoverished. Lands where sorrows abound.
This thinking has just opened my eyes to a brief passage from Ecclesiastes, "Sorrow is better than laughter, because a sad face is good for the heart."
Now i am willing to offer that i am stretching the intended meaning of this verse, but based on events of the past year, i would wager that sometimes the suffering of some is good for realigning the hearts of many. When people suffer there is something deep inside of us that prompts us to run to the rescue. To offer aid, to mourn with those suffering. Disaster often brings out the best in people. In the "mission field" i have yet to meet a person that has gone abroad to work in a foreign country especially a third world country that was not moved to the point of tears, and their thinking about life changed.
So now consider this. . . why are we always running halfway around the world to help people, when there are so many here. What is there about people of other cultures that we can have pity on them and help them, but we view our own poor as a curse and a threat? We will send money to a child starving in Kenya, but we will not offer to buy a homeless man lunch.
"Well, he might rob me, or hurt me, or break into my home" you say.
Poverty, dare i say even life, will always present an element of danger. Have we forgotten that God is always looking out for our best interests?? If our car gets stolen do you think God doesn't know about it?? Did we really need that car anyway (i mean in the scope of the bigger picture)? Funny how all of my conversations keep coming back around to possession which brings us back around to greed (or selfishness).
So here we are, missionaries in our own neighborhoods. Who would have guessed?
Now this doesn't mean you should give money to every poor person you meet. In fact if i am not mistaken you will find that Jesus never gave anybody money. . . he provided for there needs and tells us that when we do this for others we are doing it for him. "I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me."
So you don't feel called to be a missionary? Well we all are! Deal with it! Some of us just don't have to jaunt half way around the world. The harvest is ripe, lets get to work. . . here abroad or anywhere!