Our Lord Jesus saw much suffering as he traveled from town to village during his brief time on earth. “The harvest is large,” He told His disciples,”but there are few workers to gather it in.”

David Livingston, one of history’s greatest missionaries, decided at the age of six that he would work for the Lord’s harvest in Africa. A doctor, a scientist, and explorer, he spent his life in Africa in God’s service. “I have seen the smoke of a thousand villages,” he said,”where the word of God has never been.”

The world today remains filled with villages, towns and cities that hunger to hear the Good News. As we Christians grow in our faith, we just can’t keep the Good News to ourselves. Jesus gave us the Great Commission in Matthew 28: “Go, then, to all peoples everywhere and make them my disciples.”

God doesn’t ask us for heroic actions like those of David Livingston – only that we be obedient and find our own place in the world to be ambassadors for Christ.

I once met a Peruvian lady in, of all places, a reception hosted by the Royal Family in England. She told me she was in Great Britain for one reason – to harvest British souls for Christ!

The Lord had led her halfway around the world because the harvest was great and the workers were few.

Recently I was honored to speak at one of the world’s largest

gatherings of believers seeking to enter the missions field. Missionaries from all over the world came to share their stories of sacrifice and service. Anyone who believes that a Christian life can’t be exciting and purposeful should spend some time with these courageous ambassadors for Christ.

I have great love and admiration for missionaries. My father, my five sisters and I were each led to the Lord by overseas missionaries, and my wife Pat and I spent our early years in missions work throughout Latin America. Our sons have since joined us in our pursuit of the Great Commission – to take the Good News of Jesus Christ to the world – and I pray that several of our grandchildren are not far behind.

In John 20 we hear the words of Jesus – resurrected from the grave – as He challenges His disciples to share God’s love with the lost. “As the Father has sent me,” He says, “so I send you.”

Most of us have come to faith through the outreach of someone sent by God. As you grow in your faith, the Lord’s heart for the lost will become your heart as well. When that happens, whether it’s in your own neighborhood or in some distant land, you too will become a missionary – an ambassador for Christ.

When missionaries train for cross-cultural ministry, they take classes to prepare them for living, and sharing Christ, in a foreign country. Among other things, learning the language of the people is essential to effectively share the Good News.

You and I also need to learn the right ’language’ to communicate with today’s postmodern generation. It’s important to realize that these people have little to no church background or Bible understanding. There is a basic ignorance of Christian beliefs and doctrines.

We must be careful to not speak in ’Christianese’ terms, which can be confusing to them. Instead, try communicating the Good News using language they understand.

For example, when talking about your relationship with Jesus, try using words like ’rescued’ and ’changed,’ and ’spiritually alive.’ Even simply saying you’re a follower of Jesus, instead of a Christian, may be easier for someone to grasp.

St. Paul challenges us in 1st Corinthians 9 to, “become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.” As you find creative ways to communicate your faith, those listening will better understand – and hopefully receive -the Good News of Jesus Christ.

We all want to reach our world, don’t we? Well, sometimes it can be very lonely. Verse 3 of the hymn I’ve been sharing with you this week says, “So send I you to loneliness and longing, with hearts a-hungering for those we love and know. Forsaking kin and kindred, friend and dear ones so send I you to know my love alone. ”

There are some people who are called to remain single- and some of them are called to remain single and go to a foreign country to give the Good News of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Yes there is loneliness, yes there is longing and hungering to be with those you love and know, yes you want to be with family, with friends, with dear ones, but you know, somebody has to get out there and preach the Good News of Jesus Christ.

I have one wife, four sons, four daughter’s in-law and ten grand children. And for all of our lives, we’ve had to be separated from each other week after week, month after month, year after year. One day we calculated we’d been separated for 15 years, to take the Gospel of Jesus Christ. But somebody has to do it, somebody did it to bring me the Gospel down in South America, and I love those missionaries who did it.

So yes, there is loneliness, and there’s longing and hungering for those we know, but in the end, the result of people going to Heaven, and knowing Jesus Christ is worth all the sacrifice and all the effort – on behalf of the one who died on the cross all by Himself.