GO GLOBAL

Exodus 12:21-27
2 Timothy 1:1-14

Whether it's a local church or a denomination, Christians everywhere have only one mission lived out in many ways -- to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world:

"And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”  (Matthew 28:18-20, NRSV)

It is Christ's missional imperative to "Go Global."



My father gave me the Bible and pocket watch of his father, a Methodist minister.  In the Bible, I event found notes from one of his sermons.  What treasures, since I never knew my paternal grandparents, but Dad shared lots of stories about them both.

You probably have treasured objects and memories that have been passed down through the generations that have special meaning.

The phrase, "Church family" has special meaning to me because I grew up in a local church where three generations of my family worshipped together each Sunday.  Some of those relatives made sure that my sister and I were included in special activities.  One of them was my Sunday School teacher.  Relatives or not, I was surrounded by people who believed it was important to pass on the faith to the younger generation.

Timothy, the young pastor Paul the Apostle was mentoring, had a similar experience. Paul writes, in 2 Timothy 1:5:

"I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you." (NRSV) 

A sincere faith, a genuine faith, a treasure of a faith passed from mother to daughter and then to grandson.  A faith that Paul encourages Timothy to continue to pass on.  A faith in God's work of love and deliverance in the lives of people in our families, our local church, our community and in the world.

Deliverance --

• Snatching from the jaws of danger.
• Saving from death.
• Freeing of captives.
• Releasing of prisoners.

The deliverance from sin and death that the human soul hungers for.

Each time we participate in the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, we are celebrating our own deliverance through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  This feast of thanksgiving has its foundation in the Passover and the story of the deliverance of the people of Israel from slavery and death   (Exodus 12:21-27).

So, through the sharing of bread and the fruit of the wine, we pass on the story of Christ's death for our sakes to one another, the faith that has been entrusted to us by the Holy Spirit.  We are also reminded that we have a mission to share that faith.

"By your Spirit make us one with Christ, one with each other, and one in ministry to all the world until Christ comes in final victory and we feast at his heavenly banquet."  (Service of Word and Table, United Methodist Hymnall)

As Christians, we have a missional imperative to share our faith and the Good News of Jesus Christ.  We pass on our our faith to our family and nurture one another in that faith in the Body of Christ.  We are also called to expand our concept of our mission field to encompass those outside our family and our church to include our neighbors, our friends, our co-workers and our school mates.  Our horizon of mission and ministry extends out past our local community, our state, our nation and covers the whole world itself.  

Instead of thinking of it as just passing on the faith, it can be seen as passing it on and passing it out.  We do that by offering Christ and his love to all we meet in equal portions of acts of kindness and mercy along with stories of our own experiences of Jesus Christ,

 

I never knew my paternal grandparents, but through my relationship with my dad, and the stories my dad told, they have become part of my story, of who I am as a human being.  In the same way for those who may never have grown up in a church family, who don't really know or understand who God is, our stories and experiences of God's love and Christ's work in our lives are essentially how we introduce people to Jesus.  

"Hold to the standard of sound teaching that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.  Guard the good treasure entrusted to you, with the help of the Holy Spirit living in us." Paul urges Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:13-14.

I agree.  Live the Gospel out in all aspects of our lives.  Cherish our faith, and, without fear or shame, share it with the lost and the seeking, the forgotten and the lonely, the overlooked and the unwanted.  Any time, any where -- pass it on and pass it out.

How is God calling you today to go global with your faith?