Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. — John 12:24

Death is a real thing in missions. So is staying where you are. The question is not whether you will die — 100% of all missionaries die, eventually, and many die of old age in their home country. The question is what you will accomplish that has value to God between now and then. Will you live as if you control life and death, or as if God does? No missionary’s life is one day longer or shorter than the number God predetermined before He created the world.

Yes, there are real dangers. In more than fifty years of rubbing shoulders with missionaries, I have known some who were kidnapped by guerrillas, hijacked, or crashed into the side of a mountain. Some lost children; some lost spouses. But most of the missionaries I have known are still kicking around and serving God where He has them. Career missionaries have some exciting stories, and we do tell them — so that you will listen long enough for us to tell you to trust God with your life. He made those scary creatures, and us. Almost all of us have had frightening encounters of one kind or another, but it is rare for anyone to die from one. We enjoy telling you how God delivered us.

We all die. The question is what we will accomplish that has value to God between now and then.

The other risk nobody counts

There is a danger in going. There is also a danger in delay. I have been near many situations where people died — perished — just months before their missionaries, their messengers, were capable of communicating the Gospel to them in a language they understand. What if the missionaries, their teams, and their churches had moved months earlier? Often such thoughts are discounted: “It was God’s timing.” “That’s a responsibility you cannot bear.” Yes, God is in control. It is also true that we bear responsibility for our own inaction or delayed response to His clearly revealed written word and the leading of the Holy Spirit. God is good. Eternal life is real. A lot of people have never heard the truth — and they need the information to see it for themselves.

Walking by faith with fear

We should not live foolishly. But sometimes walking by faith means trusting God with what looks foolish to the world. Jesus taught His disciples to look at life through the lens of trusting God now with eternity in mind: “Take no thought for tomorrow.” “He who saves his life shall lose it.” “Seek ye first the kingdom of God.” (Matthew 6:24-34; Matthew 16:24-25; Luke 9:24) Fear is not a disqualification; it is an invitation to know the One who holds your days. Faith is only as good as the reliability of its object — and He never fails.

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