Friday, May 1, 2026

From Mission Fields to Battlefields

I grew up listening to my mother read to us stories of great missionaries. I was fascinated by their lives.

There was a time—not so long ago in the pages of history—when the Church looked out over the nations of the world and did not see enemies

It saw souls.

Men and women, gripped by the love of Christ, left behind everything familiar—home, country, comfort, and often family—so they could carry the Gospel to lands that had never heard the name of Jesus.

They did not go with weapons.

They went with the Word of God.

They did not go to conquer nations.

They went to win hearts.

The Missionary Spirit of Another Generation

Consider men like Hudson Taylor.

He did not go to China to make it British.

He went to become like the people he was trying to reach—learning their language, wearing their clothing, living among them, suffering with them. Many criticized him for it. But he understood something we often forget:

The Gospel is not carried by power—it is carried by sacrifice.

Think of Adoniram Judson.

He buried his wife and children on foreign soil. He was imprisoned, beaten, and left in chains.

For years, there were no converts.

No visible success.

No support system like we know today.

Yet he remained.

Why?

Because he believed the souls of Burma were worth more than his own life.

Consider Robert Moffat.

He labored in Africa for years before seeing significant fruit. At one point he said he had seen “the smoke of a thousand villages where Christ was not named.”

That sight did not fill him with fear.

It filled him with burden.

And then there was James Chalmers.

He went into some of the most dangerous regions of the world—places where violence was real and immediate.

He did not go with an army.

He went with the Gospel.

And in the end, he gave his life there.

What Did They See That We Do Not?

These men looked at the same kinds of places we now hear about in news reports.

Regions of conflict.

Cultures different from their own.

People with beliefs they did not share.

And yet they did not say:

“Those are our enemies.”

They said:

“Those are souls Christ died for.”

A Shift Has Taken Place

Today, many of the same regions that once received missionaries are now places we speak of in terms of:

  • Strategy
  • Security
  • Threat

We hear about them in the language of politics and war.

And something in the heart of the Church has changed.

Where once there was a burden to go

Now there is often a hesitation, or even a hardening.

Where once there were tears

Now there is sometimes fear.

The Danger Before Us

Let me be clear—this is not about ignoring the realities of a dangerous world.

Governments will do what governments do.

But the Church must never forget what it is called to do.

Because when the Church begins to see people primarily as threats instead of souls

We have lost something sacred.

Jesus did not say:

“Understand your enemies.”

He said:

“Love your enemies, bless them that curse you…” (Matthew 5:44, KJV)

Have We Grown Comfortable?

There is another question we must ask ourselves honestly.

Have we grown so comfortable in our lives that the burden for the lost has grown dim?

We build:

  • Careers
  • Homes
  • Retirement plans

And again, there is nothing wrong with responsibility and provision.

But somewhere along the way, many have lost the urgency that once drove men across oceans with nothing but faith.

The early missionaries did not ask:

“What will this cost me?”

They asked:

“What will it cost them if I do not go?”

The Mission Has Not Changed

The world has changed.

Nations have changed.

Politics have changed.

But the command of Christ has not changed.

“Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” (Mark 16:15, KJV)

Not just to friendly nations.

Not just to safe places.

Not just to those who believe like we do.

To every creature.

A Final Thought

There was a time when the Church sent missionaries to the very lands we now fear.

They did not go with hatred.

They went with hope.

They did not go to destroy.

They went to save.

And perhaps the question for us today is not what the world has become

But what the Church has forgotten.

If Christ were to stir that same spirit again

Would we go?

Would we pray?

Would we weep for the lost?

Or have we become so settled in this world that we no longer feel the weight of eternity?

May God awaken His Church once more.

May He restore the burden.

May He remind us that every nation—no matter how distant, how different, or how difficult—

Is still a mission field.

The Four Horsemen Are Riding Now

 Living Like He Could Come Today

There has always been a tension in the heart of the true believer.

On one hand, we believe what the Word of God plainly says—that the Lord can return at any moment. He is God. He is not bound by time, nor by the expectations of men. Our Lord Himself said:

“Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.” (Matthew 24:42, KJV)

And again:

“Be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.” (Matthew 24:44, KJV)

Yet on the other hand, Scripture also speaks of things that must come to pass:

  • A falling away from the truth
  • The revealing of the man of sin
  • The Gospel is being preached in all the world

So we live in this place between what could happen at any moment and what is unfolding before our eyes.

And if we are honest, many of us feel that unfolding more deeply now than ever before.

The Horsemen Have Been Riding

From the days of the early Church, believers have watched the world and said, “Surely this is the time.”

They saw:

  • Persecution
  • War
  • Famine
  • Death

The same things were described when the seals were opened in the Book of Revelation.

They endured the fires of Rome, the sword of empire, and the loss of everything for the name of Christ. Many of them believed they would see His return in their lifetime.

And yet… He tarried.

Not because His promise failed—but because His mercy endured.

What Feels Different Today

The difference is not that these things have suddenly begun.

The difference is the intensity… and the reach.

Today:

  • War in one nation shakes the economy of another
  • Food shortages in one region raise prices across the world
  • Disease spreads across continents in a matter of days
  • Persecution of believers is not isolated—it is global

The “beginning of sorrows” did not start with us.

But it has grown and spread until now the whole world feels its weight.

A Troubling Thought

There is something that has weighed heavily on my heart.

Many Christians will say, “I believe the Lord could come back at any time.”

But if we are honest… our lives do not always reflect that belief.

We have grown comfortable.

We build:

  • Careers
  • Plans
  • Retirement
  • Security

And there is nothing wrong with working, providing, and caring for our families. The Scripture does not condemn that. In fact, it commands responsibility.

But here is the question that cannot be ignored:

Have we become more focused on building a life here than preparing for the life to come?

Jesus warned us:

“Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with… cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.” (Luke 21:34, KJV)

The danger is not in living.

The danger is in becoming so rooted in this world that we forget it is passing away.

The Drift of the Church

We are living in a time when something deeper is happening.

It is not just the shaking of nations.

It is the drifting of the Church.

  • The urgency for souls is fading
  • The burden for the lost is growing cold
  • The message of repentance is being softened
  • The focus has shifted from eternity to comfort

Paul warned of a “falling away.”

Not a sudden collapse—but a gradual drift.

And drift is dangerous… because it often goes unnoticed until we are far from where we once stood.

What Would Change If We Truly Believed?

If we truly believed the Lord could come today…

Would we speak more boldly?

Would we pray more earnestly?

Would we forgive more quickly?

Would we reach more urgently for those who are lost?

The early Church did not sit idle waiting for His return.

They lived ready—and in living ready, they turned the world upside down.

The Call Remains the Same

We do not need to prove that this is the final generation to feel urgency.

Every generation has been called to live ready.

Every generation has been commanded to preach the Gospel.

Every generation has stood one breath away from eternity.

The mission has never changed:

  • Preach Christ
  • Call men to repentance
  • Live holy
  • Be ready

Because whether He comes today… or a hundred years from now…

Every soul still stands at the edge of eternity.

A Final Word

The question is not simply:

“Can He come today?”

The question is:

“If He did come today… would we be ready—and who have we brought with us?”

May we not be found asleep.

May we not be found comfortable in a world that is passing away.

May we be found faithful.

“Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.” (Matthew 24:46, KJV)