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From the Editor

Missions

This month at WTOnline we will be focusing on the mandate of missions. The missionary mandate is usually restricted to the last words of Christ as recorded in Matthew. This familiar passage is known as the Great Commission, and not without reason—it contains the marching orders given by the risen Christ to His disciples just before His departure from the world.

These words surely form part of the mandate, but they should not be regarded as the whole mandate. When speaking of the Great Commission, it is easy to be guilty of either over-simplification or over-complication.

The Great Commission does not supersede the Great Commandment to love one another, but it adds love and service to our neighbor—a new and urgent dimension. If we love our neighbor, we shall no doubt share with her the good news of the gospel. But if we truly love her, we will not stop with evangelism; we will go beyond her soul’s need to her material needs and total welfare.

We are sent like Jesus to serve; we go—we witness—we love! The gospel lacks visibility if we merely preach it. And it lacks credibility if in our preaching we are interested only in the souls of others and not their total welfare.

Missions does not describe everything God does in the world, but it does describe what the Church has been sent to do—to be “salt of the earth” and “the light of the world.”

The Early Church changed the world through their message and passion, coupled with hospitality and generosity. Let it be said that we, too, changed our world.

Visit WTOnline often this month as some content changes weekly.