Towards the City God Built

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.  These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.- Hebrews 11:8-16 ESV

Dr. Kyuboem Lee

Missions is so often something we support and other people do "out there." But I want to bring to light that we have been molded and shaped to work as missionaries here in the city.

Abraham is an immigrant. He is a foreigner in a new homeland. The people of faith have always been pilgrims, aliens, and strangers. They do not belong wherever they are. But God promises that the people of faith have a home. God has prepared a place for us. As immigrants and children of immigrants, we can innately sense this alienation.

Even if we find success, we will still live in this sense of dislocation. We are still not home. This world will still give us this sense of alienation. Success will not fulfill this longing. We are called to follow in Abraham's footsteps. He was an immigrant who owned no land and was promised that he would bless the nations. He lived in tents and owned no place in the promised land.

We do not have to be successful first to serve as missionaries. We can reach out to people who feel alienated and be the presence of Christ. We may think that we can outsource missions, but that is not how it works. It is not the professional missionaries who spread the gospel. It is poor everyday Christians who spread the faith. The Christians fleeing persecution spread the faith.

Our heavenly home will find us neighbors with people of every tribe, tongue, and nation. They will be of a wide variety of experiences, socio-economic classes, and identities. We will not be separated but we will be one people of God. That is the reality we pray from and work towards when we say "on earth as it is in heaven."