Study Strategically

Behold Devo #5: Stewardship

Why are you still here? On earth, I mean. Why didn’t God take you to Heaven right away after you received Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins? Why did He leave you here for some time? The answer is that God’s heart is for people from all nations to be saved. Jesus’s mission “to seek and save the lost” is now your mission (Luke 19:10). Jesus’s last words recorded in Matthew, “to go and make disciples of all nations”, is God’s mission for every Christian (Matthew 28:19). That is why you are still here.

In light of this, God’s Word calls us to strategically leverage our remaining time on earth for the mission and glory of Christ. We prayerfully optimize our lives towards sharing the gospel and making disciples by God’s Word and the power of the Holy Spirit. You can do this, even while you are a student. In fact, your years as a student may be some of the most strategic for helping others to know Jesus’s love for them. Who can you share God’s Word with today?

Practically, I believe it is helpful to consider two types of strategy in shaping your life towards making disciples: short-term and long-term.

Short-term strategies are changes you can make in your life today and over the next few weeks to live for God’s Kingdom. Consider these three categories of ways you can glorify God Spiritually: your sanctification (John 15:8), the salvation of the lost (2 Corinthians 4:15), and the sanctification of other believers (Ephesians 4:15). With these in mind, some examples of short-term strategies may be going to bed earlier, so that you can get up and spend time reading the Bible and praying before school. Or it may mean giving up some things you love, like video games or social media, so that you have more time to spend with God, your church, your family, or lost friends. Short-term could also be inviting a friend to start a Bible study with you, asking your family to set aside time each week to read the Bible, sing, and pray together, or inviting a friend to be your study partner or work out partner, so that you can have gospel conversations along the way.

Long-term strategies are ways to live for God’s mission that take months, years, or even decades to happen. They require careful planning, intentional pursuit, and regular prayer to accomplish. However, they often start with a small change in your daily life that adds up to a big impact in the end. Being a dedicated student is one of the best examples of this. The daily decisions you make now to pay attention in class, to complete your homework with excellence, and to study to the best of your ability, will prepare you to be used by God down the road. As you practice reading and writing, God is equipping you to better understand the Bible and to communicate its meaning to others. As you study history, God is preparing you with the background knowledge to defend your faith. In math and science, God may be calling you to a strategic career as a teacher, engineer, or doctor. Even if you don’t know yet what God’s long-term plans are for your life, taking your studies seriously today will open Kingdom doors for you tomorrow.

And how do you decide your long-term plans, especially when it comes to your career? You will face many pressures from the world, your family, and even your own desires to pursue a career based on financial gain and security, or possibly your interests and talents. Finances, interests, and talents are important factors and should not be ignored entirely; however, Biblically, they are not the ultimate decision-maker when it comes to choosing a career — God’s Word is. As a disciple of Jesus Christ, God has already spoken directly to you about what His desire is for your life: “to go and make disciples of all nations.” This is why He didn’t take you right up into Heaven remember. He still wants to use you “to seek and save the lost.” Jesus’s disciples, Peter and Andrew, may have loved being fishermen. They may have been naturally gifted at fishing, and their catches may have provided for their needs. But when Jesus called them, “follow Me”, they left their boats behind and joined Him in His mission of “fishing for men” (Matthew 4:19).

The reality is 42% of the world still lives in areas that are less than 2% Christian. This means that most of these people live their whole lives, die, and go to Hell without ever hearing the Name of Jesus, which is “the only Name that saves” (Acts 4:12). These are people like you, made in the image of God, with priceless value, whom God loves and desires to save (2 Peter 3:9). In addition, there are still 3,000 languages with no Bible and no church. In order for these peoples to hear about Jesus and be discipled, someone must move to their land, learn their language, and plant a church. Imagine what your life would be like if you never heard about Jesus or never had a Bible in your own language. Thankfully, ordinary Christian men and women throughout history gave their lives to bring the gospel to you and to translate the Bible into English. But many people are still waiting in darkness to hear about the Light.

These unreached peoples are unreached for a reason. There are cultural, political, linguistic, and geographic lines that must be intentionally crossed in order to bring them the gospel. And there is no more noble of a cause than to give your life to go to them, as Jesus gave His life, left His throne, to come to us. So does this mean your academic journey should be geared towards going to a Christian college, studying Bible, and going directly to one of these 3,000 language groups after graduation? Possibly – that would be a great goal – but God may also call you on a more indirect journey. You may be like Paul who learned a trade of tent-making and used it to support himself at various times during his missionary journeys. The list of possible modern day “tent-making” careers is endless, from teaching to medicine to coding, but some are more strategic than others, depending on the specific location God calls you to go in the world. It is also important to note that when given the opportunity to stop tent-making and to give his full time to ministering the gospel, Paul chose to temporarily shut down his business until it was needed again. The mission of God is our first priority.

As a Christian, prayerfully consider becoming a missionary and making your life’s aim that of the Apostle Paul’s: “My aim is to evangelize where Christ has not been named,” (Romans 15:20). And as you work towards that end, begin to live for God’s mission where you are. You may not feel equipped to be a missionary now, but if you devote yourself to God’s Word, sharing Jesus with friends and strangers, and serving in your church, God may just prepare you over the years until its time to go. And when He does send you, remember that you are not alone, but that He promises to go with you (Matthew 28:20).

As you consider giving your life to missions, remember that not every missionary will be a pastor, church-planter, or Bible translator. There are many supporting roles in the missionary task, from administration to child care. To reach the world with the gospel, it is also strategic to have Christians in every career field scatter across the world for their jobs. God may call you to work, or maybe even to study, overseas, and to be faithful to share the gospel, serve your church, and make disciples while you do.

It is also important to note that not every Christian will become a missionary. Ephesians 4 and 1 Corinthians 12 make clear that each of us is given certain gifts from the Holy Spirit to build up Christ’s church. God may give you gifts needed locally, to serve your church and family, and that is a wonderful thing. Every member of the body of Christ is valuable, needed, and honored. Even if God doesn’t call you to go overseas, He still invites you to joyfully participate in His mission as a “sender”.

A sender is someone who contributes to God’s mission through prayer, giving financially, and making disciples locally. Without senders, goers (missionaries) wouldn’t have the prayer and financial support needed to go. As Romans 10:15 says, “how can they preach unless they are sent.” By working hard in your studies today, you are opening doors for future jobs that will enable you to give generously towards God’s mission. And your education is preparing you to strategically serve God, your family, and your community in ways beyond your understanding.

Whether God makes you a goer or a sender, fulfill and steward your role faithfully, beginning as a student. God has many roles planned for you, possibly even being a spouse and a parent one day. Remember that your relationships with God and your family must never be neglected in pursuit of other things. This is why it is critical that the person you marry also prioritizes God’s mission, so that you can glorify Him together. And remember that God is righteous and just — He holds you accountable to steward what you have been given (Matthew 25:15). To some He has given 10 talents, to others 5, and to others 1. What matters is that whatever He has given you, you steward it for His glory, in love, from your heart. Jesus said that the widow who gave two coins out of her poverty gave more than the wealthy who gave out of their surplus (Mark 12:43). At the same time, to whom much is given, much is expected (Luke 12:48). And whoever is faithful in little, will be entrusted with much (Luke 16:10).

Long-term plans like becoming a faithful goer or sender are not convenient, and you will likely face many obstacles along the way. These will require commitment, flexibility, and creativity to overcome. When barriers arise, you will be tempted to resort to easier endeavors, but I encourage you to stay the course. Keep your eye on the bullseye of glorifying Christ, and with faith in God, prayerfully go right through every obstacle by God’s strength. He cares even more about His mission than you do. He has your back. And He “is with you always”, wherever you go.

Application: Prayerfully consider how God is calling you to strategically leverage your life for the mission and glory of Christ. What short-term immediate changes or plans can you make to grow in your relationship with God or to help others around you to know Jesus? What long-term plans and goals can you set to strategically bring the good news of Jesus Christ to those who have never heard? Take time to pray about these things, write them down, and talk to your pastor about them. You will never regret giving your life, your prayers, your finances, and your studies to the mission of God to make disciples of Jesus Christ among all nations.

Study Break: Grab some popcorn, invite your friends and family, and watch this life-changing movie based on the true story of John and Elizabeth Elliot, who served as missionaries to the Huaorani Indians in Ecuador in 1956. Watch “End of the Spear” on Apple TV here or on Amazon here.

Further Resources: Check out Missionary.com for 6 documentary films about missionaries, along with articles on missions. Also, grab a copy of the book Radical by David Platt or Let the Nations Be Glad or Don’t Waste Your Life by John Piper to learn more about how you can strategically leverage your life for God’s mission.