Ben Kwashi, Bishop of Jos, calls Christians to keep sacrificing for the sake of the gospel
Mission is the hallmark of the church. John Stott put it this way: ‘Mission is an activity arising out of the very nature of God. The living God of the Bible is a sending God, which is what “mission” means.’
Mission is the mission of God, the original concept of which was that of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. This was then extended to include the concept of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit sending the church into the world. The initiative and incentive comes from God: it is a movement of God to the world, in which the church is the instrument. The church exists because there is a mission to fulfil, and that mission is a mission of service, of representing God in and to the world, of pointing to God and of being a vehicle of God’s endless love to the whole world. A true presentation of the gospel of salvation comes with practical implications and clear evidence of the message: it is a living out and a pouring forth of the love of God to all peoples, nations, tribes and communities of His world.
Formed by the gospel
If we in the 21st century are, in our turn, to be faithful stewards, committed to passing on the gospel which has been entrusted to us, we must first ourselves be shaped and discipled by that gospel and we must learn from the teaching and the lives of Jesus and the apostles. If we are not formed by the gospel, the gospel we present will be deformed.
Jesus himself lived and demonstrated the mission of God; His whole lifestyle was the evidence of God at work in human form. He further made the mission of God possible for His followers to carry out and also pass on for continuity. The effectiveness of Jesus’ teaching about the mission of God was in His ability to teach, to live out His teaching, and to train His followers through practical experience in the field. He never asked them to do what He himself would not do. A living church must be a missional church reaching out to others who are not related to you by blood, going to people in need of all that will restore their dignity and humanity through Jesus Christ. We who have received the benefits of mission must now go out to live out the mission of Jesus Christ in all its fullness.
Commitment to the gospel
I can never thank God enough for the first missionaries who came just over 100 years ago to bring the gospel to my grandfather’s generation. They gave up their careers; they gave up their houses; they gave up their lives. Nothing could stop them. Prebendary Fox had one son who was a highly qualified doctor and another son who was a theologian and pastor. Both sons gave up everything, came to Nigeria, and both died within a very short time. The father then sold a property in order to raise sufficient funds for someone else to come out in their place. That is commitment! That is the commitment that God is calling for today. No matter what the circumstances may be, no matter what the conditions, the mission of God continues. As we say in our diocese today: ‘Mission IS possible!’
Building by the gospel
I am convinced, I am persuaded, that there is no gospel if all that is seen is destruction. There is no gospel if man is not reconciled to God, and man is not reconciled to man. There is no gospel if peace from God the Father is not brought to man, and if peace is not given from man to man.
I believe with my whole heart that there is no gospel of revenge or retaliation or vengeance. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the power of God, so that whoever believes in the gospel, no matter the nationality or the locality of that person, the gospel will be seen in his or her life, and the fruit of that gospel will be seen in righteousness, holiness, service, development, health, physical and spiritual blessings, that accompany the person in the community. The Christian gospel does not destroy: it builds and brings life in all its fullness to everybody, without discrimination of race or sex, age or background.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ,
for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith’. (Rom. 1:16-17)
Suffering and persecution cannot and will never kill the church, or erase the gospel. In fact, difficult situations provide more opportunities to show the real and practical nature of the gospel. Jesus’ ministry was characterised by His compassion:
When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. (Matt. 9:36)
‘I have compassion on the crowd because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat.’ (Matt. 15:32)
As His followers, we are called to demonstrate this compassion to all in need: the widows and orphans, the handicapped, underprivileged, elderly, abandoned, the unloved and uncared for.
This kind of mission and compassion will never be easy! It makes demands on our purse, on our time – and on our love. It challenges our commitment to Christ! This, however, is what it means to say that the gospel is the power of God. God will always equip those who trust Him and who are His workers, His servants, the channels through which He can continue to show His love to a broken and often darkened world.
Two pictures
In the north of Nigeria where I live there have been many killings, together with the destruction of homes, farms, properties, churches. The stories can be heartbreaking. But the gospel cannot be burnt out or destroyed. Let me give two remarkable pictures.
The other year a village in our diocese was attacked; people were killed and buildings were burnt down, including the church. Inside the church, however, the altar and the cross on it refused to burn, and were left standing.
The other week, a column of vehicles was forced to spend the night in a town just outside Maiduguri, the State capital in the far north east, where persecution has been hot. While the travellers slept they were attacked and the vehicles set on fire. The people died, the vehicles and all their possessions were burnt out. Everything was lost except one thing. A Bible was retrieved undamaged from inside a vehicle. It was lying on top of a laptop which was totally burned, but the word of God was intact.
These are signs which we cannot ignore!
Mission is possible! We have a gospel worth living for and a gospel worth dying for! We are to be builders, not destroyers, and the mandate of Almighty God on us as Christians is to build lives spiritually, intellectually and physically. We must build all people and particularly the young people and give them a hope for the future, a vision of the Kingdom of God.
