“God has only children; He has no grandchildren.” Have you heard this before? Well, it’s true and I think it’s time to affirm it in the strongest terms. Here’s why:
Sometimes questions arise when Jamaica is cited as having the highest number of churches per square mile or when it is said that it is a Christian nation and its people are Christians. What is missed is the sad reality that the majority of Jamaicans do not go to church or, if they do, still can’t tell you how to get to heaven. It is true that some Jamaicans are working for revival but obedient faith has been in decline for so long that the need now is for grassroots evangelism and disciple making.
Because Christianity is part of Jamaica’s history and is still nominally present, some people question whether Jamaica is a mission field at all! Well it is! And we at TEAMS are not ready to “shake the dust off our feet" against that country just because there remain some vestiges of Christianity. We will not somehow penalize lost people today because their “Christian” forebears squandered the responsibilities of their spiritual privilege. Nor will we assign them a low priority or make missions work optional just because the country is not between certain latitudes on the globe, or cannot be defined as “unreached”, or is not populated by adoptable people groups.
My friends, people are not more or less lost and without hope because they live in Jamaica instead of Jordan, or reside in Montego Bay rather than Montenegro. Lost is lost and eternity without Christ is eternity without Christ.
“God has no grandchildren.” May we each find our God-directed place in His purposes “for the obedience of faith among all nations.” This is my Heartbeat.
Sometimes questions arise when Jamaica is cited as having the highest number of churches per square mile or when it is said that it is a Christian nation and its people are Christians. What is missed is the sad reality that the majority of Jamaicans do not go to church or, if they do, still can’t tell you how to get to heaven. It is true that some Jamaicans are working for revival but obedient faith has been in decline for so long that the need now is for grassroots evangelism and disciple making.
Because Christianity is part of Jamaica’s history and is still nominally present, some people question whether Jamaica is a mission field at all! Well it is! And we at TEAMS are not ready to “shake the dust off our feet" against that country just because there remain some vestiges of Christianity. We will not somehow penalize lost people today because their “Christian” forebears squandered the responsibilities of their spiritual privilege. Nor will we assign them a low priority or make missions work optional just because the country is not between certain latitudes on the globe, or cannot be defined as “unreached”, or is not populated by adoptable people groups.
My friends, people are not more or less lost and without hope because they live in Jamaica instead of Jordan, or reside in Montego Bay rather than Montenegro. Lost is lost and eternity without Christ is eternity without Christ.
“God has no grandchildren.” May we each find our God-directed place in His purposes “for the obedience of faith among all nations.” This is my Heartbeat.
- My editorial from the most recent Vital Signs which reports on the work of TEAMS for Medical Missions in Jamaica, West Indies
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