hough I speak in the dialect of the people I serve and
can preach with the eloquent power of a fiery evangelist; though as a surgeon
I can operate with skill; though as an agriculturist I can raise high-grade
river rice; though as a teacher I can deliver learned lectures, but do not have
love, my message is empty.
And though I have the talent of a diplomatic organizer and
administrator in councils and meetings; though I have all the confidence that
I need to raise large funds, but do not have love, I am good for nothing.
And though I share my possessions and give money to the
poor, but do not help my brother and sister to become strong, independent followers
of Christ, I achieve absolutely nothing.
Love, if it is genuine in the life and work of a missionary,
is patient and constructive; it does not seek for position and prestige. Love
is glad to see a competent national in charge, and envies not. Love seeks to
train an indigenous leadership; it does not cherish inflated ideas of its own
importance; it is never eager to impress. Love tries to identify itself with
people and is never arrogant and ethnocentric.
Love that is genuine does not belittle. It does not compile
statistics of another’s mistakes. Love seeks to bear joy and sorrow, failure
and success, in helpful ways. Love is not easily provoked when there is difference
of opinion or cultural differences arise; and when rumors are spread, love believes
the very best.
Love that is genuine is a partner. It is better to fail
with a national in charge than to succeed without them. Love is not touchy;
it never hides hurt feelings. Love never barricades understanding; it rejoices
in sharing the truth.
Love keeps an open mind; is willing to attempt new methods
and ways of doing things. Love does not consider the past so precious that it limits new vision. Love
gives courage to change old ways when necessary; is flexible in adapting tried
and trusted forms from the missionary’s culture to fit the new cultural context
of the nationals’ society.
Love that trusts like little children never fails. Large
institutions may cease; even heavily subsidized schools and colleges that impart
knowledge may close. If wisdom gained there fails to lead students to Christ
the Savior, it would be better to entrust such education to the government;
for our knowledge is always incomplete without Him who is “the way, the truth
and the life.” Love that has no other desire but to trust never fails.
We are in a period of change and transition. The postcolonial
era is upon us. And where is the person who knows where we are going or what
will happen in the world of mission and evangelization? Here on earth, we can
only vaguely comprehend.
When Christian missions were yet at the stage of childhood
the methods of proclaiming Christ’s gospel were simple and sometimes naive.
Authority was in the hands of a few. But now that mission has grown for over
a century toward maturity, childish dependence must be put away. There must
be planted deep within the soil of every people a new, vibrant, indigenous church
of the Master; one that is not only self-supporting, self-governing, and self-propagating,
but one that is also self-theologizing.
But whatever happens, whatever direction the winds of change
may take, there is this certainty: Our Lord has not, and will not, leave Himself
without a witness. Through His creation and redemption He is perfecting His
plan in and through history, though everything now looks confused, baffling,
and sometimes hopeless.
Be sure of this: institutions will pass away, but labor
wrought by hands that have shared with those in need and proclaimed the message
of the saving love of Christ—who died and rose again and lives as Lord of life—will
never, never pass away. In this life there are only three enduring qualities:
faith, hope, and love; these three. But the greatest of these is love.
_________________________
SOURCE UNKNOWN
