Give Them Jesus

"Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” -Acts 3:6

This verse was stated within one of the articles found in the January 1949 issue of The Other Sheep. There the missionary was speaking of how he may not have the supplies to fill the material needs of the people he was encountering, but he was seeking to fill their spiritual needs. This contrast between a peoples' material needs and their spiritual needs is one that was drawn frequently in this issue causing me to think deeply about the goal of missions. 
The goal of missions is something we have discussed both in this class and many of my other classes. Is it theological? Is it humanitarian? Is it some sort of combination of both of these? Why are we called to missions? The Nazarene missionaries in this article made it clear that, for them, the goal of missions was to convert people to Christianity. There was no other aim in mind. They were not going to these remote places to start humanitarian movements but to introduce these people to Jesus Christ. It was clear that this was their goal by the way in which they wrote, however, to the secular world observing many of their actions, it could seem that their true motive was humanitarian. These missionaries did not dismiss the material and physical needs of the people they were working among. They built hospitals, provided people with jobs and houses, gave people food and built relationships with the outcasts. All of these efforts could be said of non-religious NGOs, making missionary endeavors seem very humanitarian. However, missionaries did not stop there. As they completed these various actions, they spoke the truth of Christ into the lives of the people they met. These humanitarian efforts were not done as the ends to missions, they were the means through which missions happened. It is a picture of Micah 6:8, the goal is to encourage people to walk humbly with God, the means is acting justly and seeking mercy.