MENU

From the Coordinator: What Will We Endure for the Great Commission?

By Lloyd Kim, Mar 31, 2020

What does radical love and generosity look like? My wife was speaking to a Chinese woman at her local Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) earlier this year. The woman was getting updates on the coronavirus directly from friends and family in China through social media. She said that the city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus, shut down its borders early on after the outbreak. They would not allow people to come in or out of the city. The problem was that about 5 million Wuhan citizens were outside the city when they closed the roads in or out. Where would these 5 million people go? Where would they stay?

She went on to describe how Chinese Christians began opening their homes to these strangers, letting them stay with them without cost, putting themselves at great risk. The guests of course were wondering, “What would compel these Christians to be so kind, so generous, and so self-sacrificing?” We know the answer. It’s Jesus. He is the One who welcomed us when we were strangers. He is the One who not only risked, but sacrificed His life for us, for our safety, for our salvation. And He is the One who commissions us to proclaim His gospel of the kingdom in word and deed.

What has always been interesting to me is how Jesus healed the sick, the diseased, the lepers. While He certainly could have stayed at a safe distance and merely spoken the word, in most cases He comes close and touches those who need healing (Matt 8:1-4; 14-15; 9:18-26; 29-31). In doing so, He puts himself at great risk. Jesus enters into the suffering, shame, and isolation of the most vulnerable. He takes their disease, uncleanness, and infirmities and replaces them with his perfect, spotless, cleanness.

This is the pattern He sets for us, who have experienced the transforming power of the gospel. “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases” (Matt 8:17). What then are we willing to risk for the sake of others? What are we willing to endure to carry out our Lord’s Great Commission? Our challenge is to enter into the suffering, shame, and sickness of the most vulnerable with the healing love and generosity of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Would you join us in this high calling from our Lord? Would you pray that the gospel of the kingdom would advance throughout the world?

Lloyd Kim

Lloyd Kim is coordinator of Mission to the World. He is a former PCA pastor and a former missionary with MTW in the Philippines and Cambodia. He holds an M.Div. from Westminster Seminary in California and a Ph.D. in New Testament studies from Fuller Theological Seminary. Lloyd and his wife, Eda, are the parents of Kaelyn, Christian, and Katy.

Please login to continue
Having Trouble Logging In?
Reset your password
Don't have an account?
Create an Account
Sign Up for Free
Name
Email
Choose Password
Confirm Password

GET INVOLVED

Belize Summer Teams
Mission Trips
Additional Missionaries Needed in France
Longer
The Well: Reach Out Broadly, Dive Deeply
Summer Internships

One Day in Thailand with Ty Nash (VIDEO)

Join us as MTW missionary Ty Nash leads us through one day in Thailand and get a peek into his daily life.

SEE MORE

Tearful Sowing, Joyful Reaping

Life on the mission field is hard. Missionaries often find themselves “sowing in tears.” But God promises a joyful reward to the steadfast.

SEE MORE

Join the Club: MTW’s EFL Ministry in Bulgaria Builds Bridges to the Local Church

What began as a way for one missionary to meet people has turned into one of the main outreach arms of MTW’s Sofia church plant.

SEE MORE

Pray for missionaries on the field who are suffering hardship as they sow in tears. Pray that they would find hope and remember the promise of joyful reaping. 

Pray for our single missionaries serving internationally in the midst of their unique struggles. 

Pray for missionaries to remain faithful in the mundane and not get caught up in striving to perform for the praise of others. 

Pray for missionaries who are doing valuable work yet have trouble raising support because their work or field is deemed less exciting or less important than other mission work by some in the church. 

Pray for missionaries raising support and for potential donors to grasp the eternal importance of supporting missions.

Pray for missionaries who are experiencing homesickness on the field.

Please pray for God’s protection over new missionaries and our MTW family as we engage in God’s kingdom work.

Pray for current missionaries, future missionaries, sending churches, and donors to be willing to ask the question, "How could God use me?"

Pray for missionaries on the field who struggle with loneliness.

Pray for MTW missionaries in Thailand as they seek to plant a parish-style church in the Prawet district of Bangkok.

SUBSCRIBE TO STORIES & MORE

Good news in your inbox, once per week.