"What good is it...?"
“What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?”
For several years my family and I have struggled and fought to follow a call from the Lord to work for His kingdom in the city of Barcelona, Spain. It has been a trail fraught with difficulty, doubt, and questions. But one frequent question we’ve received from others is, “Why Spain?” Often that question is accompanied by a subtle, if not subconscious doubt of the legitimacy of this mission. Spain, after all, is a well to-do country. Rich & beautiful and not needy. They are a cared for and comfortable European country. Why would we send missionaries there when there’s much more need elsewhere?
It’s a perfectly valid question that we have asked often ourselves, but maybe you already see the problem. It is all too easy as American Christians to unknowingly equate wealth, comfort, physical provision, and even “Westernness” with the good news of God’s kingdom. After all, didn’t Jesus tell us to feed the hungry, heal the sick, care for the poor? Of course! And we must do those things. But part of what drives us to faithfully follow this call to Spain (besides obedience) is Jesus’ question that is actually a statement, “What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?” (Mark 8:36) Imagine for a moment we solved all of the issues of homelessness and poverty and wealth inequality, raising the whole world to a first-world level. In God’s eyes what would we have gained? What does your neighborhood, workplace, or city look like spiritually?
See one of the dangers of considering “missions” only or even primarily through the lens of humanitarian aid is that it can keep “those who need the gospel” far away from our own lives. My family and I are called to a city full of beauty, culture, fashion, wealth, and the greatest football (soccer) team in the world. Yet we fully believe that, despite all of this, if we are not alive in Jesus, we have nothing. The bible doesn’t describe life in Jesus as the cherry on top or the finishing touch to a good life. Either we are alive in him, or we are dead, both now and for eternity. All of the good things we have in life, if they are not of God, are dead idols.
At Iconium, the apostle Paul proclaimed, “…we bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to a living God who created the heavens and the earth and everything in them.” (Acts 14:15) When we come to see that both wealth and the want of it are dead idols outside of the living God, this is good news indeed!
“…we bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to A LIVING GOD…”
My hope is that our message and mission will do a small part in helping all of us grow a full, kingdom-sized understanding of what it means to be God’s kingdom bearers to the world around us. Whether we’re sent across the world or across the street, the Word is the same. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness will not overcome it. Jesus the living God has come and is coming to bring life now, and for eternity. That is good and needed news, no matter who you are.