Sometimes it’s hard to answer the same question time and time again.
Whenever I talk about foreign missions, one such question comes up, in one way or another, every time. The question is, “Why are we helping people in another country when there are plenty to people to help here?”
Sometimes the question is asked as a simple curiosity. Sometimes the question is motivated by something different. There are people in my own family who have said to me, “I don’t agree with helping people in other countries. I think we should only help people here.”
Most people aren’t so blunt, especially when they know that I am a strong supporter of foreign missions, but occasionally, I face a little bit of resistance.
In these instances, I do my best to not be defensive, but to explain that helping people in need in other countries in the world is commanded by the Lord Jesus Himself, and that is my chief reason for supporting and going on foreign missions.
I also explain that most of the money that the church gives to missions is here, in our country. I explain that for the church, it’s not one or the other, but both. We believe in helping people wherever there is a need and wherever there is opportunity, and again, not because it’s our idea, but because it’s a Biblical command.
I’ve also learned that there is a myriad of reasons why people react the way they do to the idea of missions, whether foreign or domestic. It’s at this point that I remind myself that at one time I wasn’t for or against missions, I was indifferent. But instead of giving you a list of reasons to support missions, allow me to share something personal.
When I was twenty-seven, I had, for lack of a better phrasing, a re-awakening, a great personal revival and repentance. In the midst of this time in my life, I was searching for God in every way that I could and in everything at the church that was being offered, so I decided to try getting involved in missions when I was invited to do so.
There is no way to describe what the Lord did to me in the next years through missions both foreign and domestic. The best explanation is simply to say that He transformed me. I don’t pretend to understand the supernatural, but the Spirit, like the wind, has had His effect on me.
At the heart of mission work, whatever that means to you, is caring about other people. When I focus on others, I have the freedom to stop thinking about myself. And somewhere in the midst of losing myself, I find the Lord. And I would never change that. And I will never stop. To steal the words of John the Baptist from John 3:30, He must increase, but I must decrease.
Much love!
Wes LeFlore (918) 607-8489 or huskerwes1@gmail.com
