What Does The Word "Mission" Mean
May 29, 2008In just a few days Dale and I will be on our way to Honduras and
I am reminded of our last trip in 2001 to the dump in LaCeiba . On the last day
of the mission trip we visited the city dump, where many families lived in cardboard
sheds made out of the partial pieces of wood and other materials which were pulled
from the rubble in the garbage pit. I thought I was prepared for what I would
see because earlier in the week we met many people who had never slept in a bed
with a mattress, but I was mistaken because when I saw the children pour out
of the hills around the dump, my heart moaned and there are not words to describe
what I truly felt. My thinking about Christianity changed forever.
What does “mission.” Mean? Dale and I are not going on a
special “mission” trip – our life is a mission everyday.
A mission with one purpose. What is that purpose? Loving God and Magnifying
His Son. We are not going to a distant place to do a task. We are going
to a different place to be a tool in the hand of the Master Craftsman.
We are the “tool” – not the muscle behind the tool.
We have not surrendered to a task; - we have surrendered to a Person,
with only one responsibility. That is to let Him use us as a tool in
whatever way He sees fit.
I hunted God’s will for a long time, thinking I had to “do” something
to please Him - but His will was never hid. The Will of God for each
of us – is Jesus! Plain and simply – Jesus! Jesus was set
aside for the purpose of “glorifying the Father.” That was
the purpose, Calvary was the means. The Christian’s purpose is
also to glorify the Father.
What do the hungry people in the dump of Honduras
need? Food, yes – Jesus
more. Even though I had eaten a good breakfast the morning before we
went to the dump that day – I left the dump hungry. A hunger, like
none I’d ever known, I hungered to embrace these boys and girls
in such a way they could feel the love of God and see the muscle of Jesus
Christ as He worked to bring them relief. When the dump trucks rumbled
up the hill, creating a commotion among the dump-dwellers, I could plainly
see that they were hopeful of relief from their suffering. Here in a
land of plenty, often we hunger – we have, but often can’t
obtain.
It’s been seven years since I stood at the city dump in a third-world
country looking into the hollow eyes of hunger children, but it’s
still fresh on my mind. What do we hope to accomplish while in Honduras
for only nine days? Not a lot in man’s terms of success. There
will still be hungry, hurting people there when we leave; but if we are
tools in the Hand of God – then He is responsible for whatever
the outcome may be. Christians often hunt “tasks” to do for
God and while wanting to “do” something is an honorable thing;
the task done is not what brings Him the most glory. What gives God the
most glory and honor is a proper, intimate relationship with Him. That
is what He delights in most.
We may not be able to change the world, but
we can make a difference wherever we are to the people we rub shoulders
with everyday. We can
be a tool that God uses to accomplish whatever He wills. Whether local
or foreign, the call is to serve and love. Jesus was set aside for the
purpose of the Father, we should do the same.(Proverbs 3:5-6)
Brenda Hyche,
wife of Rev. Dale Hyche
Honduras ’05, ‘08
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