In missions, we tend to put our focus on the field. We think that God’s purpose is only for us to reach the lost. As such, when we go for mission trips, we pray for the lost and conduct many outreach programmes. Though this purpose of God to reach the lost is evident, we may have neglected another aspect of mission.

Consider the story of Jonah, is God only interested in the salvation of the people in Nineveh or is God also interested in the life of Jonah? God seems to tell us that He is interested in both. In the story, the author was putting a lot of emphasis on Jonah himself. God wanted an obedient messenger to get His message across. God awaited a response from Jonah in order for him to get to work.

Missions is not just about transforming the people in the field, but also transforming the messenger. We have been so task-oriented in missions that we have forgotten about ourselves! How can we miss out such an important purpose of missions. God expects us to be more like Him as we do His work. He is totally interested in us as well as the field. He wants to transform us as much as those people in the field. In fact, God can at times hardened the hearts of the people in order to teach us some lessons. This is especially evident from the lives of the prophets.

Perhaps, we need to reflect more when we go for missions next time. Listen to what God is saying concerning our lives. Let God accomplish the work in the field, but also let Him do the work in us too.