The Greatest Missionary Ever
"He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel." Gen. 3:15

The missionary candidate surveyed the view from the high-rise office window of mission headquarters. Far below, the multitudes wandered like sheep without a shepherd.

Stepping up behind the candidate, the mission director rested a hand on his shoulder and reflected, "To be sure, you will be leaving a lot behind in order to bring them the Good News. You will forsake the comforts of home and set aside the honor and privileges you have enjoyed here. It won't be easy. Many of those sent before you have died."

"I know," replied the candidate, "but when I think of those who will be saved through my sacrifice, I'm overjoyed."

"I'm glad you feel that way," said the director, moving to his desk. "However, there is one more detail we need to discuss. It's rather unusual."

The candidate took a chair and waited until the director continued, "Allow me to remind you, son, that a missionary strives to identify with people and their culture to such an extent that he becomes one of them. That is the goal, even though up until now it has been impossible to attain perfectly. There is, however, one way to bridge completely the gap between us and them."

The director's voice swelled with the conviction of a decision-maker with a bold new strategy. "What we need is a volunteer to enter the mission field in a unique manner-as a baby! He will have to forsake all his adult capabilities and be born among them, weak and helpless. But in this way, he will learn the language and the culture from the very first step. Of course, this will mean waiting many years before you can preach the Word and suffer for them, but when the time finally comes, you will be one of them. Yes, I know it is unusual, but it WILL work! Well, what do you say, my son? I have a body prepared for you."

"Here I am!" he said, "I have come to do your will."

The two smiled at each other. Then, turning to his intercom, the director ordered, "Get me Gabriel on the line. I have some messages for him to deliver."

To be sure, this story is a greatly simplified, anthropomorphic illustration which doesn't do justice to the glory of the Trinity or to Christ's inexpressible love for us in coming to be our Savior. Yet this imagined conversation does emphasize a key fact: Our Savior Jesus Christ, true God and true man, was a special missionary. No other missionary ever left more behind than Jesus did. No one ever had to cross a wider cultural gap. None of us ever had to suffer as He did. Without this missionary, we would all still stand condemned before God. None of us would have been saved, if this cross-cultural worker had not crossed the chasm between the worlds in order to die on the cross in our place. Thus he surely deserves the title: The Greatest Missionary Ever.

1. Who were those sent prior to the Candidate? See Hebrews 1:1-3.
2. Why does the Candidate anticipate personal sacrifice with joy? See Hebrews 12:2.
3. Compare Genesis 3:15 and Hebrews 10:5-7. How might they be understood as mission promises?

• With Genesis 3:15 and Hebrews 12:2 in mind, list the sacrifices and the joys that may come to you, as you participate in God's mission to the world.