Why would anyone do something as foolish as going to serve as a frontier missionary? Why would you leave your family to serve among a group of people who are total strangers, potentially hostile, and may be completely indifferent to the good news you have to share? You know and believe that the call is there, but why risk illness, loneliness and death for a bunch of folks you have never met before? The answer is as simple as it is profound: love.

Of course, this love is not some sappy emotion that passes like the breeze on an autumn eve. Nor is it some physical groping that Hollywood projects as a pathetic counterfeit for unadulterated agape. It is not dependent upon the response of the object of its affections. It is inherent in the character of the one who loves. This love represents the principle of commitment to stand and share and give no matter the consequences.

Where does such love come from? “Only by love is love awakened.” The love that you experience, both receiving and sharing with others, is but a reflection of the love you receive from above. God demonstrated His character of divine love in sending Jesus Christ to this planet to become the Lamb of God, knowing that we would murder Him. God knew that only this courageous love would awaken in us a desire to be forgiven, healed, restored and made whole.

This love draws us and transforms us. It compels us to do something in response. We no longer look out only for ourselves, but we consider the needs of others. As a consequence of our trust in the love of Jesus, God urges us by His Spirit to think beyond ourselves, to think beyond the present, and to contemplate the eternal value of people.

This is the reason you will go to the frontiers to serve as a missionary among an unreached group of people. You love Jesus because He first loved you. And because you love Him, you will love others for whom He died. The divine love demonstrated on Calvary is in your heart and mind, and you are compelled to respond with action.

Whether we live or die, whether we reap a harvest or plant a seed, we will love courageously.

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