Sent by God through our jobs

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.  (Acts 1:8) 

Going as missionaries is something that has always been in the back of the minds for my wife and me. Even before we met, both of us had a desire to serve Jesus in other cultures. One of our main struggles was however the feeling that we would not fit in as traditional missionaries. There is nothing wrong in the traditional mission's method. We just felt that this model was not a good fit for us.  

After we had been married for a while, we attended a course where we learned about what it means to be “tentmakers,” and how we can serve God in other nations through our professions. We sensed that this was more in line with what we could do.  

First, we decided to investigate opportunities in a country that we had visited in the past. To our surprise, the immigration authorities did however not grant us a work visa in that nation. The set-back discouraged us for a while. It also caused us to seek God's guidance again. The process took three years. Today, thanks be to God, we experience that we are where the Lord wants us to be. We have moved to an Asian country that we had limited knowledge about beforehand, and we are serving him here through our jobs. 

There are many things we do here that are like the life we lived in our home nation. We go to work, to the market, to the bank, to the coffee shop and to the movie theatre just as we did before. As many other tentmakers, we also have few financial challenges. As professionals we make our living through or work. This allows us to have a good standard of living. We also do not need to be a financial burden to our sending church. 

There are, however, also undeniably many challenges when we live as tentmakers. Many of them relate to culture. It is not always easy to understand what makes sense to the people here. What is normal and acceptable to them can often be strange to us. Separating what is cultural from what is sinful, can be a challenge too. Over time we still learn to share lives with the people around us and we experience how we grow closer to other and generate friendships, and how spaces for dialog and exchange of ideas are being created.  

A key to building friendship and maneuvering in another culture, is love. We are called to love the people around us as Jesus loves them. This might be challenging, and we need God’s help to do so. At the same time, it is an incredible pleasure to be servants of the almighty God in another nation, in a place that we sense God has led us to. 

Challenge 

Are you willing to serve God with the same loving heart that He has for you? Can you consider working for him in another culture? 

Prayer 

Lord God, fill my heart with your love, so that I can reflect who you are through my life and work and manifest your presence wherever I go.