What is God’s plan for the world?

So, I got so overwhelmed this morning during TV church. I’m so thankful for technology during these 2 months while we are keeping our little guy at home. We are able through our phone and Apple TV to put a church service on our TV screen and experience the service just as we were sitting in the service. It’s pretty amazing. (yes, I know its 2018…but still, some pieces of technology and how they are used overwhelm me)

This morning as I was listening to the pastor talk about their mission, I was just brought to tears. It’s all really simple (and yes, I agree that we often complicate it ourselves). But he mentioned their mission was for the local area, the nation, and the world. I looked at Mr. McKinney and with big puppy dog tears just said, “that’s overwhelming.” And, it is.

It’s overwhelming to think about. God’s plan from the beginning of Creation was to redeem the WORLD. And, in our North American telescope viewpoint, we forget that we are the world.

This weekend I’ve been thinking about how we were just a few weeks from our trip to Africa a year ago. It’s crazy that it’s been a year and yet so many details of our experiences are still so fresh in my mind. A couple of those include our incredible worship experiences in a “yard” in a village or the church we attended on Sunday morning, the sound of children’s voices singing hallelujahs at a school welcome program for us, and the gathering of a few teenagers under a tree we were using for shade. I remember preparing for that trip; trying to get the details of a couple of Bible stories in my mind and preparing a lesson that I was tasked with leading while I was there.

I remember thinking that I was getting ready to take the story of the Gospel, the story of Jesus, to the ends of the earth. Growing up in missions programs like Mission Friends, GAs (Girls in Action), and Acteens, I was always mesmerized by Africa and had that on my mind as a place I wanted to go to someday. So, last March was more than a bucket list item for me; it was a childhood dream fulfilled.

But, as we got on that plane and I thought about our big, long, overnight flight I started thinking about this idea of “taking the Gospel to the uttermost parts of the world.” And, I realized that I was in the uttermost parts of the World. North America, the United States of America, Texas, North Dallas…that’s the ends of the earth. You see all too often, we look at the world from the vantage point of where our feet land instead of the bigger, grander scheme of all that is involved.

I am the ends of the earth. I am the uttermost parts of the world. The Gospel started much closer to Africa than it did North America. Throughout history, someone had to bring it from the Middle East to where I am. Someone had to get on a form of transportation and bring it to where I was. That probably involved a cow, a hard walk, a long boat right that was not full of amenities, maybe a Model T, most likely misery, and denial along the way. And, that legacy involved several people. Have you ever thought about the journey of the people involved in your spiritual lineage? Just like the lineage of Jesus is listed out in Matthew 1, have you ever thought about how far back you could trace your spiritual lineage – the name of the person who told you about Jesus and the name of the person that told them, and the name of the person that told them.

Many of those names might be connected to your hometown or your state, but as you keep digging deeper I think it would be overwhelming to think about the states, countries, and continents involved. If nothing else, most of our stories start with the apostle Paul. Traveling on dirt and mud-filled roads. Maybe on the back of an animal here and there, but mostly with the tools God gave him.  His feet.

This morning I’m overwhelmed and thankful to be part of the ends of the earth. May I live the days ahead of me not like I’m doing a favor for the world, but that the world gave me the greatest gift; grace, mercy, redemption, and salvation.