Mr Rogers and the Mission Field

Like many children over the last couple of decades, my first hero was a man named Fred Rogers, or as many of us knew him, Mr. Rogers.  Mr. Rogers quickly became my hero because I could see something very warm and kind in the way he treated people. 

So the day I learned Mr. Rogers had a fan club, a letter was immediately written and put out in the mail in hopes that I would have the privilege of becoming a member.  As far as I knew, there weren’t any responsibilities of being a member of his fan club, but I did receive an autographed picture and letter from the man himself! 

The term ‘member’ is often attributed to people who join a church, but I’m not sure this word best conveys the main purpose Jesus has for those who desire to follow Him.  A friend of mine who once started a church in the Galveston area offered a different label to those who wanted to join his congregation.  Rather than members, they were called missionaries. 

What a wonderful concept!  Too frequently we think of missionaries as people who go off to some foreign country to live in poverty and constant danger, when in reality a missionary is simply someone undertaking a mission, and especially a religious mission. 

Matthew 28:19-20 informs us that as Christians, Jesus has given us the mission to make disciples of all people groups.  He said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” 

This passage from Matthew also instructs us to teach the nations to obey all that Jesus has commanded. As it is often said, though, most lessons are better caught than taught. So as missionaries, we need to be modeling Jesus’ commands for those we are trying to teach them to, and modeling how Jesus’ commands aren’t burdensome, but are actually life and peace.

Origen shows that as we faithfully live on mission, we are actually serving as ambassadors for King Jesus.

And as Paul said, “We are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us,” so would we in the same spirit and language earnestly desire to be ambassadors for Christ to men, even as the Word of God beseeches them to the love of Himself, seeking to win over to righteousness, truth, and the other virtues, those who, until they receive the doctrines of Jesus Christ, live in darkness about God and in ignorance of their Creator. – Origen 225CE, Volume 4, p. 1132 [CD-ROM]

Origen says that as God’s ambassadors, our heavenly Father has given us the mission to urge the world to embrace His love. Mr. Rogers spoke eloquently about love when he said, “Love isn't a state of perfect caring. It is an active noun like ‘struggle.’" Being an effective missionary and ambassador for God is going to entail a life of struggle. But seeing people come into the kingdom of God is worth dying for. If we love Him we will embrace the struggle.