Giles relayed to me how he was reminded of that just this week. He was working at a client site, and near the end of his day there, he had the opportunity to talk with one of his clients about our eventual residency in Africa. But as tends to happen when we talk about our great God and what He is doing in our world, the conversation readily turned to our Father’s higher calling and purpose for each one of us. It may not be overseas missions, but He has a mission for each of us to fulfill in bringing His blessing of redemption to all nations. As they discussed this greater life purpose and the trappings of this earthly realm that keep us from living it out, she shared with him that she and her husband were having some work done on their home by a group of Amish carpenters.  She said that she admires how devoted they are to their work, which is evident in the beauty and creativity of their craftsmanship, but also how they find joy in living simply. She then told Giles that God must have ordained their conversation that day. She said that their conversation, in addition to her recent musings about living with less material things, made her think about what she and her husband can do to fulfill their greater purpose. She told Giles that her husband is an executive with a local water company, and that she has been thinking about how he should use his skills and knowledge to bring clean water to developing countries. God had begun to reshape her heart through her encounter with the Amish craftsmen, and this brief conversation at work brought further confirmation and affirmation of how she and her husband might join God in His mission in other parts of the world.

These seemingly random moments are just as much a part of our calling as venturing overseas someday to participate in God’s mission elsewhere in the world. In our recent studies through a course entitled “Perspectives On the World Christian Movement,” we are learning that God is on mission and has been historically to accomplish His purpose on earth and among all nations. A cornerstone of His purpose is to make Himself known to all nations so that He will be glorified.  This purpose was reflected in Christ’s instruction to His disciples concerning how to pray to the Lord, encapsulated in one simple phrase: “hallowed be thy name.”  As John Piper writes, this means to exalt God’s name, “to cherish and honor it above every claim to our allegiance or affection.” (Excerpt from “Let the Nations Be Glad,” Piper, 1993).  God’s desire to be glorified is motivated by love because He is love.  He created us for more than false worship of self, others, or possessions. He created us to worship Him so that through this true form of worship, He can bestow the full measure of His love and blessings upon us.

We worship Him when we share about Him with others. The Gospel is good news that we should proclaim with great joy, as the Bible instructs us. It begins with delighting myself in the Lord so that I can share this delight with others, this desire to see God worshipped for who He is. We are finding that opportunities to share about God abound if we only have eyes to see them and ears to truly listen to what people are saying (or not saying). Also, we have found that once we take that step of obedience to share with others about Him, God gives us the right words to say, which is in keeping with His desire to reveal Himself to all peoples. I believe that everyone desires to live with purpose because God created us in His image and placed eternity in our hearts. Thus, we can “hallow” His name by pointing others to the Giver of purpose, making them more aware that doing good deeds cannot be divorced from God’s mission to be glorified, to advance His kingdom, and to redeem a people from every nation so that they may serve Him.

Even if we never make it to Africa, our willingness to participate with God in His mission, right here and now, will be worth any sacrifice. Already we have seen growth in ourselves and changes in others by simply sharing about what God has been doing in our lives and throughout His world.  How much more does He desire to share His incomprehensible love with us as we further submit our lives to worship and glorify Him above any other plan, allegiance, or affection.