My kids and I frequently read stories about missionaries, people who give their lives to spread the gospel of Jesus to others, some to the point of death, but all to the point of sacrifice. I love reading posts and books from David Platt and Paul Washer, Katie Davis Majors and Nik Ripken. All modern day missionaries. Their lives have been lived as if a beacon, shining forth. Corrie Ten Boom, Gladys Aylward, George Mueller...these are my heroes.
I am sure by now you have heard a story or two about the slain missionary John Chau. While I don't know John Chau personally, I have been fascinated by his story. He counted the costs and still laid it all on the line. From what I understand he also counted the costs of contacting the North Sentinel Island. He quarantined himself, studied and prepared as much as he could. He knew what he was doing and he still did it.
Why?
Why would someone do something like that? Because he was desperate to at least give them a chance to hear the message of Jesus Christ. I do get that that sounds crazy to people who have absolutely zero interest in the Bible or the message of God, but what I do not get is why he is being attacked by fellow Christians. I cannot understand how we can all read the same Bible, read the same Words and then condemn someone who tries to reach the unreached. I do realize that there has to be a method, a plan, and lots and lots of preparation. But at the end of the day, it isn't about missiology or modern methods or seminary degrees (*not that these things are not important, they are, but they are not the only things. They are not the measuring stick we need to use to see if John Chau's life was a good one or if his death was an avoidable mistake.)
If God called him to do this then nothing could stand in his way. And if indeed it was his time to die, then nothing would keep him here. Do you really think a hundred years from now we will be shaking our heads at him, that we will be criticizing him? I have heard people commend him for his passion but speak of his death as if it were a waste as if he wasted his life. I don't think he wanted to die, I don't think he was crazy or careless, I think he was simply a man who loved His God enough to have radical obedience.
I am sure by now you have heard a story or two about the slain missionary John Chau. While I don't know John Chau personally, I have been fascinated by his story. He counted the costs and still laid it all on the line. From what I understand he also counted the costs of contacting the North Sentinel Island. He quarantined himself, studied and prepared as much as he could. He knew what he was doing and he still did it.
Why?
Why would someone do something like that? Because he was desperate to at least give them a chance to hear the message of Jesus Christ. I do get that that sounds crazy to people who have absolutely zero interest in the Bible or the message of God, but what I do not get is why he is being attacked by fellow Christians. I cannot understand how we can all read the same Bible, read the same Words and then condemn someone who tries to reach the unreached. I do realize that there has to be a method, a plan, and lots and lots of preparation. But at the end of the day, it isn't about missiology or modern methods or seminary degrees (*not that these things are not important, they are, but they are not the only things. They are not the measuring stick we need to use to see if John Chau's life was a good one or if his death was an avoidable mistake.)
If God called him to do this then nothing could stand in his way. And if indeed it was his time to die, then nothing would keep him here. Do you really think a hundred years from now we will be shaking our heads at him, that we will be criticizing him? I have heard people commend him for his passion but speak of his death as if it were a waste as if he wasted his life. I don't think he wanted to die, I don't think he was crazy or careless, I think he was simply a man who loved His God enough to have radical obedience.
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