Going, Going . . .

I've been thinking about this topic for a long time but have not written about it on blog or paper and thus my thoughts remain a bit sketchy -- forgive me, and I'll jump right in. Faith by grace in Jesus Christ gives the freedom and joy to respond to God's love by loving Him in return, and by extension, loving others. Seeking to glorify God and love others leads to caring about their spiritual condition and desiring to share this restored relationship with God (ie. sharing the gospel). This is the joy and responsibiliy of every Christian, not just evangelists or missionaries.
What then is the difference between a Christian (one living completely for following Christ) and a Missionary? It might be whether one has been sent (by the church) to a "foreign" land/culture as their primary occupation. BUT there are missionaries that serve in their own lands and with their own cultures. For example, native missionaries in India, who serve in their own and surrounding villages, or people who work with Campus Crusade. And are not all Christians been "sent" out each week to serve in the world? One church I was in had signs about the exits that read "You are now entering the mission field", which I thought an apt reminder. For that same reason, and because of "tent-maker missionaries" the distinction can not be based on there the money comes from.

Is it then reduced to whether one seeks to be considered a missionary or not? I don't think so. That would suggest an element of pride or seeking recognition in the eyes of men and missionaries in my experience, and according to what is typically required of them, are the most self-less and humble of people. I suggest that it is a level of daily personal commitment, and thus being a missionary is a personal choice, an intentional frame of mind resulting in daily action. Thus, one may have the title of "missionary" behind their name and not be living according to that claim. Alternately, one may be working as a janitor in the same city for the last 40 years and be a committeed and powerful "missionary" without every being called as such by the local church.

My sister and I live in the same appartment in a foreign country, work at the same school, and have the (primarily) same beliefs and faith. I would call my sister and bro-in-law missionaries while I would not call myself the same. This is not a humble gesture, and is not quibling about whether I have been "sent." They have been sent by their home church; I applied to FGCC missions board to be sent to Florida with MDS, but not with this trip to Japan. This simply points to the main difference -- a recognition of my lack of commitment. I am too full of self to devote my life here to the full service of God. How does this differ from how I was living in Canada? It doesn't. I simply recogize the lack in myself by living in close contact with such "missionaries".