3. God is a missionary god

• World evangelism reflects the character of God, who invites us to join Him in seeking lost people.
• Since we were created in God's image, shouldn't emulating God's love, holiness, and missionary heart be the desire of every believer?
• As we become more like God, we will become a missionary people who reflect our Redeemer, and Lord, and we will thus be intensely focused on missions.

Are we reflecting God?

Slogans to awaken the Church: Sayings about world evangelism to stir hearts and move people to action

"Since God is a missionary God, God's people are a missionary people." -- Eddy Ho, evangelical leader from Malaysia

For Eddy Ho, the reason pushing us to evangelize the whole world is powerful: World evangelism reflects the character of God. In essence, God does not sit in Heaven barking orders to us to go seek the Lost. Instead, He beckons us to join Him in a worldwide search for lost people.

God goes to great lengths to cross barriers and overcome obstacles to confront sinful people and offer them His grace. Because God so tirelessly does that, English author Francis Thompson used a hunting dog metaphor in "The Hound of Heaven," his epic 182-line poem about God. Eddy Ho says that if that is the way God is, then that's the way we should be.

Being Christlike should be the heart's desire of every believer. Indeed, more than a century ago, believers began singing Thomas Chisholm's song "Oh! To be like Thee." Emulating God's love, holiness, and missionary heart is in line with what Genesis 1:17 declares about our having been created in God's image.

Sadly, sin marred and distorted that image. The good news is that God wants to transform us to be more like Him. In Eddy Ho's opinion, being like God means that we will be a missionary people.

Ho's exhortation for us to be missionary people who reflect our Creator, Redeemer and Lord evokes what British missionary Henry Martyn wrote: "The Spirit of Christ is the spirit of missions. The nearer we get to Him, the more intensely missionary we become."

Discussion questions

1. According to Eddy Ho, what is the primary reason believers and their churches should be involved in world evangelism? How would that reflect the character of God?
2. How does Francis Thompson's metaphor of God as a hunting dog in "The Hound of Heaven" support Ho's argument about the nature of God and our role in evangelism?
3. In what ways does emulating God's love, holiness, and missionary heart make us more like Him? What are the implications of this for every Christ-follower?
4. How does Henry Martyn's quote about the Spirit of Christ and missions relate to Ho's exhortation for us to be a missionary people reflecting our Creator, Redeemer, and Lord?

    -- Howard Culbertson,

More mini-essays in the "Slogans to awaken the Church" series published in Engage magazine

Afterword: Reflecting or Imitating God

Eddy Ho's powerful sentence about why we are to be a missionary people reminds us that reflecting God is the reason believers must be involved in world evangelism. Emulating God's love, holiness, and missionary heart should be the heartfelt desire of every Christ-follower. God, as portrayed by Francis Thompson's metaphor of a hunting dog in "The Hound of Heaven," goes to great lengths to seek the lost. So should we. Henry Martyn's words about the Spirit of Christ and missions remind us that as we get closer we get to Christ, we will likely become ardently world-mission-minded.

The logic underlying Eddy Ho's statement is this: God is actively engaged in a worldwide mission to reconcile humanity to Himself. His people (who are called His "ambassadors" by Paul) must there participate in this mission of sharing the Good News worldwide.

Several themes support Ho's statement. These include:

• God as a Missionary God: God is depicted as being proactively involved in the world and in human affairs as He seeks to reconcile people to Himself.
• Imitatio Dei (Imitating God): Within Christian theology, there's a concept known as "imitatio Dei\." That means "imitation of God." This indicates that human beings are called to reflect the character and actions of God. If God is a missionary God, then it follows that God's people are called to reflect His global missionary passion.
• The Church as the Body of Christ: The Church is described as the "Body of Christ" (1 Corinthians 12:27). This imagery suggests that the Church is to continue the work of Jesus in the world. Since Jesus engaged in a mission to proclaim the kingdom of God and offer salvation, it follows that the church, as the body of Christ, is also called to participate in this mission.
• Global Scope of Salvation: The Bible declares that God desires the salvation of all people, regardless of their background or circumstances. If salvation is understood to be universally available, then it becomes imperative for God's people to share this message with everyone everywhere.

More on world missions for you

• Doing missions well: 12 Exemplary missionaries
• Ideas shaping world mission outreachtoday
• Mini-essays on 36 world missions Bible verses
• Bible verses relevant to the Great Commission
• Historic world missions slogans
• 12 ways missionaries reflect Christ
• World missions case studies
• Ten imperatives for missionaries