Why do we go?

Last week a team of about 40 individuals from the San Antonio CMDA went on our annual mission trip to serve the people of the Dominican Republic. Over the course of a week, we cared for a little over 500 people, performed about 600 dental procedures, evaluated about 100 adult medical patients, 150 pediatric patients, and 60 OB/GYN patients. But most importantly, each of these patients received prayer and either heard, or witnessed the Gospel message. After each of these medical missions in past years, I am often asked the question: "Why do you go? Why not just send the money you spend to help the people you served?" This has prompted me to actually think about the value of going and serving, and why we continue to do so. Here are thoughts that I recorded some years ago following these sorts of questions:

Why do we go?

1. Jesus did – Matthew 14:14  “and Jesus went forth and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick.”

   1. Healing is consistent with God’s nature

   2. Jesus used healing as a means to get people to listen to His message, but also His healings reflected a genuine outflowing of His love for people around him; particularly the poor, the widow, the orphan, the sinner…

   3. If Jesus’ spirit is truly “within us”, shouldn’t our hearts be concerned with those things that most concerned Him?

   4. In a real way you can become the hands and feet of Christ.

2. Jesus commands that we go

   1. Matthew 28:18-20:  “Then Jesus came to them and said, “all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Therefore go 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 I have commanded you.  And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

      1. This is not necessarily a call to medical missions, but a call to global missions; to use one’s talents, gifts, and resources to glorify God, and take his gospel to all the earth (both locally at home and internationally as well)

      2. The corollary to this call, is that all Christian medical missions must be about  demonstrating God’s love for humanity, and evangelism…the telling or demonstrating of God’s love for mankind.  Medical missions without evangelism, is really just social work (though this is not necessarily a bad thing...just not the "Best thing").  (Bruce Steffes, MD in “Medical Missions:  Get ready!  Get set!  Go!”)

   2. “Where in the bible is missions ever identified as an optional program in the church?”…David Platt, in “Radical”

   3. We are created by God, saved from our sins, and blessed by God to make his glory known in all the world.  We are blessed with gifts, talents, resources enabling us to take the gospel to the less fortunate and unreached among the world.  The real question is, will we be even minimally obedient to this call of every Christian?

   4. Will we be guilty of “assigning the obligations of Christianity to a few, while keeping the privileges of Christianity for us all.”?   (“make disciples of all nations”….that means someone else;  “come….and I will give you rest”…now that means me!) – David Platt.

3.  When we are obedient to God’s call, we are allowed to join Him where He is at work in the world around us, and in so doing, EXPERIENCE Him, and be blessed by Him in a way and to a degree that, for me, is not possible anywhere else in “the world”.  This is essentially what is being described by Henry Blackaby in his book “Experiencing God”.  Blackaby states :  “God is far more interested in your having an experience with Him, than He is interested in getting a job done.  You can complete a job and never experience God at all.  He is not interested just in getting a job done.  He can get the job done any time He wants.  What is He interested in?  You and the world – knowing Him and experiencing Him.”

   1. In the past I have been guilty of an attitude of wanting to “get the job done” for Jesus: a focus on numbers of patients seen, and a desire to have the certainty that I was helping with their medical problems – to feel that I knew what medical conditions I was treating, and to know the outcomes of my interventions.  This inevitably led to great frustrations and feelings of uncertainty that I was accomplishing anything of lasting value, since you never have that type of confirmation on this type of trip.  I believe that this is one of the tools of spiritual warfare that the enemy uses against us to convince us not to get involved again:  “what good did you really accomplish?”, “you can’t change their circumstances, and they will just get sick again”, “you’re not really a valued part of this team…you’re not really curing anyone”, “you’re just risking your own health and safety…for what?”

   2. As I’ve continued to participate in these trips, I have had a shifting focus toward just being “obedient to the call”, and giving up the necessity of “knowing that I was accomplishing something of medical value”.   This has freed me to trust God to accomplish that which He wishes to accomplish (whatever that might be), and allows me to just “be in His will” and to experience Him.  

   3. I have also shifted my focus toward the “eternal well being” of the patients that we encounter, rather than just their medical well-being….this has led to a more intentional effort to pray for, and with more patients, and hopefully to show them the love that God has for them in a tangible way.

   4. of our less fortunate brothers and sisters ever encounter!

      The outcome of this obedience and a shift in my attitude , has been that God has richly blessed me with a joy and contentment that I experience only on these trips.  He has allowed me to see the “body of Christ” at work in others, and to develop Christ -centered relationships with brothers and sisters, which I carry with me back to “the world”, and which continue to enrich my life.  

   5. When we hear others describe how mission service changes you, this is what I believe they are trying to describe.

4.  A word of caution!

   1. We should guard against a “me centered focus or goals” – “how will this change my life?”  “how can I earn points with God toward my own salvation (you can’t!)”, “will this make me look virtuous in the eyes of the world”, etc.  These are wrong motives for serving…but even if we have wrong motives God can still use us for His own purposes!

   2. Rather, we should be focused on being obedient to God’s will, (is this how God has gifted me and equipped me to serve?  Is this where He is calling me to serve?  Will I trust Him enough to be obedient? ); we need also to be intentional about glorifying Him in all that we do, so that His name will be blessed, and His gospel will be spread to the ends of the earth!  Remember, “you may be the only “bible” that some of our less fortunate brothers and sisters ever encounter!

As I re-read these words today, I am reminded of why Marilyn and I have been so passionate about medical missions over the years. I hope this has inspired you to find the place that God has equipped you to serve, and to begin to experience the blessings of being in His will for your life.