Bird Calls and Missions

So I was outside just a bit ago and a bird whistled at me. I know what you're thinking. And yes. I'm serious. But it wasn't just any whistle. It was the "you're hot" whistle. The whistle you make when a pretty girl walks by that goes up then down. Yeah. It was strange. It was a perfect "you're hot" whistle. From a bird. I mean, it's not unusual for birds to chirp. You hear that everyday. But this bird whistled at me. Not a chirp. There's a distinction there. Then it looked at me and flew off. It was such a tease. I got the whistle which captured my attention, then the fly-away. As if it was saying "yeah, I notice you there. But you can't hang with this." It's a sad day when even birds play with me as if I were a big yo-yo of emotions. But now that I got that off my chest we can talk.

"Missions exist because worship doesn't."
-John Piper

Now if you're like me...slow...it may take a second for that to sink into your brain. What does that mean? Well according to Piper, worship is the primary reason missions takes place. What I mean by that is that we live missional lives and share the gospel so that the people we share with will in turn live lives of worship.

Worship in a simple definition would be response. We live a life of worship by responding to who God is and what He has done for us. We respond by loving our neighbors and denying ourselves for the sake of the gospel. We respond by building relationships with non-believers and being Jesus to them. By genuinely loving them. Maybe buy them lunch. We go to work and work diligently. We spend time in prayer and meditation with our Creator. We sing. We invest in lives. We learn. We do everything we do in an attitude of response of who God is. Everything.

The most important thought you will ever think is what you think about God because it will determine every aspect of your life.

So why does missions exist? So that others may hear the gospel and in turn respond with a life of worship. So wherever worship doesn't exist, there lies the need for missions. It's bigger than giving somebody a trac and then walking away. It's training them to live a life of worship. That's what missions is. It's learning God's heart for the nations, so that they not just hear the gospel, they worship Him. It's making disciples. We are the one's who are called. By "we" I mean those who are called Christians. Those who claim to follow Christ. Not the ones who are "called," as if there is only a select group of people that are supposed to go. We are all told to go and make disciples in the Great Commission. And we are all called to lay down our lives for the sake of Christ and the gospel. We are all called to worship and make worshipers. At some point we need to get off of our comfortable pews and leave our great music behind and worship.

-thanks for reading