"Their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world." Romans 10:18

Have we ever stopped to consider that the Christian religion may be summarized in just two one-syllable words: "Come" and "Go"? The first word is the Gospel invitation, "Come to Me, all you who are ... burdened, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). The second word is the missionary command, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation" (Mark 16:15).

For 2,000 years the church has been listening to that command and, with the Spirit's active help in Word and sacrament, has been endeavoring to fulfill it. The results are evident. Of the heralds of the Gospel it may truly be said, "Their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world."

The living church is a missionary church. If Christians feel no urge to carry the word of salvation to those, both at home and abroad, who are dying without hearing it, they may well lose that heritage themselves. By sharing its spiritual gifts with others, the church becomes ever stronger and more vital in its inner life.

The purpose of the church's missionary task is not to teach others to dress and act and live as we do. The great objective of Christian mission work is to proclaim the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation through Christ to all people. To this end the church keeps praying the Lord's own missionary petition: "Thy kingdom come!"

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, give us the courage and the words to share Your love in Jesus with those who are lost so they too may have the joy of knowing You; for Jesus' sake. Amen.

(Devotions from "The Abundant Life" copyright 1998, CPH. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be printed, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of Concordia Publishing House. Permission is granted for one-time e-mailing of this link to a friend. For information on other devotional material, please contact CPH at 800-325-3040 or visit CPH at www.cph.org.)

Today's Bible Readings: Psalms 149-150    1 Corinthians 5

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