Personal Mission Field

All the goodness they had naturally implanted in them by their Creator, which they have discovered in some measure by concentrated effort they scarcely keep with great vigilance of mind; and whatever they find they have acquired through application with God's grace they do not leave to their heirs because of the unfairness of worldly wealth; all the skills they acquire in life one by one they lose in like manner at the end of this life as their spirit is given up.

  - Anonymous, Liber de Ordine Creaturarum (Irish, 7th century)

For he sees that even the wise die; the fool and the stupid alike must perish and leave their wealth to others. Their graves are their homes forever, their dwelling places to all generations, though they called lands by their own names. Man in his pomp will not remain; he is like the beasts that perish.

  - Psalm 49.10-12

Our writer makes his observation about the way of human life in a section entitled, "The Nature of Human Beings." Reduced to a bumper sticker, that section might read, "Life Sucks, Then You Die."

Soon enough, someone in your personal mission field will be the next one in your mission field to die. Will that person depart this life having heard about the Good News of eternal life from you? Having seen the reality of the resurrected Christ stretching out in you?

Or will that person die with all his temporal hopes spent or dashed, little if anything to show for his life, and nothing to satisfy the longing in his soul for eternal fellowship with God?

Man. What a great way to begin the day. Thanks, T. M.

Well, the reality is that all around us every day empty people are living out pointless lives behind paste-on masks of outward happiness and success. Paul says that, as long as they do not know the Lord, they are without God and without hope in the world.

You and I could do something about this. Well, not really you and I - the Lord, actually, working through us, could open the eyes, cleanse the heart, renew the mind, and reformat the conscience of many of these people we see every day. All He needs from us is to be a willing voice of hope - to initiate a conversation, share a word of testimony, point someone to Jesus.

Not good at that sort of thing? Trust me, you're good enough to be used by God if all you are is faithful in making the effort. God knows how to use our obedience and how to overcome our reticence, ignorance, fear of man, and all the rest.

But we must go.

But we won't go until we begin to care.

Look at them. Look at them today, and see their wasting lives, abetted by our squandered opportunities to point them to the only lasting hope of the world.

Stop now and pray for each person you know you'll see today. Then ask the Lord to use you today to offer hope to one who is wasting away, and may not even know it.

But you do.

So what?

Today at The Fellowship of Ailbe

ReVision - Guess what - city life will stress you out. Depending, of course, on which city you call home.

Mentoring - Pastor, need some help with your spiritual life? Preaching? Shepherding? Training your folks for evangelism? Want to talk about it? Send me an email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and we'll chat.

T. M. Moore, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.