Are Missionaries Super Christians?

Fri, 13 Feb 2026 13:38:08 GMT

Are missionaries super Christians? Now, that is an interesting question to think on. Most everyone would likely say “No” (and rightly so), but in their hearts they would view missionaries as pretty much a super Christian, something they themselves would feel they could never attain to in their own lives. After all, where we live, our culture puts a premium on a “good and comfortable” life with all the bells and whistles. And the life of a missionary is viewed as a life of sacrifice, of giving things up that we could have had. Sure, we agree, that the reason they give things up (for the name of Jesus being known among the nations and to further grow His Kingdom) is a good thing! But we aren’t willing to do that with our lives…we will leave that to those super Christian missionaries.

But what does the Bible say about what a Christian is? Let’s take a look at some of the things Jesus tells us in the Gospel accounts. In Matthew 13:44-46, Jesus says,

The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

In other words, a normal Christian is one who realizes the eternal, infinite value of his or her redemption and inheritance from Christ Jesus our King, that they no longer hold any value on the things of this earth and are willing to part with all of it in order to pursue Christ and his kingdom!

And again in Luke 9:23-24 and 14:26-27, Jesus says,

If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it… If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.

Did you catch what Jesus said in those verses? If you didn’t fulfill those qualifications, you cannot be His disciple! Now let’s circle back to the initial question regarding missionaries being super Christians. I would venture to say, after looking at the words of Jesus that missionaries are not super Christians at all, but rather their brand of Christianity and faith is normal Christianity per Jesus’ definition of it. Now, I do not take that to mean that everyone needs to sell all they have and move somewhere hard for the sake of the Gospel. On the contrary, the biblical norm is that a few from the church were commissioned to go and the vast majority stayed in their local context as faithful witnesses and church members (look at Acts 13:1-4).

But this does take us back to evaluating our hearts towards Jesus and the things of this world. Do we hold on to our things in this world too much or do we approach our lives with radical, normal Christian faith every day, where we deny ourselves, take up our crosses and follow Jesus with everything we have got where we live in our families, in our jobs, in our schools, in our neighborhoods, in our local church, in our community, and among the nations? May we be found faithful when we stand before King Jesus one day for his honor and his glory on this earth!

Did the Great Commission Originate with Jesus?

Mon, 02 Feb 2026 13:38:08 GMT

Did the Great Commission originate with Jesus? We all know that Jesus gets quoted as the author of the Great Commission when we look at the famous “Great Commission” passage in Matthew 28:18-20, which says,

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Is this the first time that we see this idea propagated in the Bible? If so, does that mean that God the Father had a different idea and plan for the world when he created it back in Genesis 1? Did Jesus change the Father’s plan? Your initial reaction to these questions should be a hardy “No, of course Jesus didn’t change the Father’s plans!” So let’s take a look all the way back to the creation account in Genesis 1 and see God’s first recorded words to mankind (before telling them they couldn’t eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil). Genesis 1:28 says,

And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

God actually repeats these words to Noah and his family once they exit the ark in Genesis 9:7. Anytime words and ideas are repeated in the Bible, we ought to pay attention because they are important and the Lord means for us to understand them. So what does God mean by saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth”? Is he saying that he wants Adam and Eve to fill the earth with people, regardless of what their lives look like? No, the Lord had just said in Genesis 1:27 that he made man in his image, meaning man has value given to him by God that seems to be over and above the rest of creation…his love for us is unique and special. We also see in the first two chapters of Genesis, God’s intention for a relationship with mankind on this earth. And as we look at the rest of the Bible, there is no mistaking that God cares very much about what the lives of people are to look like. His intention is for mankind to know him, to love him, to walk faithfully with him, to worship him, and to make him known to others. It has been this way from the beginning.

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Are Missionaries Super Christians?

Did the Great Commission Originate with Jesus?