When I decided to go into full-time mission work, I would admit I didn’t really know what I was getting myself into. To many, it seemed like my timing was off.
“Why now when you’re just fresh off graduate school? Don’t let your education and academic reputation go stale!” remarked many people that seemed interested in my life decisions.
These are only a few statements many fellow Christian millennials face when they plunge into mission work.
So…when is the right time to be involved in mission work anyway?
Kinds of people who go (or don’t go) on mission trips
A great majority believe in the notion that missionary work is at best a “mission trip”. One simply volunteers to “be” a missionary for a few weeks, months, or at the most, a year. After which they go back to what they were doing before that trip. School, job, family or whatever.
Mission trips are also believed to be done by young people. They want to “find themselves” and (hopefully) as a result they become more adequate in the working world. Normally, they would fundraise for a plane ticket to be able to go on these trips because they simply don’t have the funds to afford it.
Senior citizens also go on mission trips. Finally, they have enough savings to sponsor an evangelistic campaign, a building of a school or church. Some have so much savings they can buy a property and turn it into an enterprise dedicated solely for mission work.
And then there’s people my age who are expected to work full-time. Missionary work has either passed us by or it’s somewhere in the far distant future. Or we can do a short trip here & there, and that’s it. Because after all, I have to work.
I have proof when I say people around 25-35 years old is at life’s peak
An article I read say that we are at the prime of our lives at age 25-35. This is the age wherein major life decisions are made and the roots get settled. Many people ask themselves, “What should I do with my education?””How can I build my career?” “Who should I marry?” “Should I have kids?” “Where is the best place to settle down with my family?”
People in this age bracket are also considered to be at the healthiest time of their life. Studies have shown that the strength peaks at age 25 and plateaus at 35. After 35, peak performance, flexibility, and strength wanes.
In other words, if you are at this age bracket, you are at the strength of your youth.
Reasons why you should be considering mission work if you’re at peak age
However, this age is where people are put in a tremendous amount of pressure. At this age, we should be showing signs of success in life, and in worldly terms this means — a good-paying job, a spouse that is equally successful, babies that are cute & smart, a house in mortgage, and a car or two. Well-settled, well-paid, well-endowed.
When I was at the brink of deciding whether full-time mission work is really what I wanted to do and whetheri this is what God is calling me to do (both have to go together, you know), I realized that the timing makes perfect sense. I was 27 when I decided to go to the mission field, and that a missionary’s life is want I want to live.
I didn’t want to wait until I have enough savings to afford this life…that time may never come.
I didn’t want to wait until I have a solid academic reputation backed by years of time spent securing a higher education and years of experience in a university…that time might be too busy.
I didn’t want to wait until I have a good job, a nice house, and a family…that time might be too comfortable.
I didn’t want to wait until I get a solid amount of years working in a paid job so I can secure a good retirement plan…that time I might be too sick and weak to trek mountains, carry a heavy backpack, sleep in a cold tent and would rather relax and enjoy my retirement pay.
Here’s when I play the organ and give an altar call…c’mon y’all!
I remember singing a hymn in church when I was a kid, and the song really stuck to my head all these years. The first stanza goes like this:
“Give of your best to the master, give of the strength of your youth,
Throw your soul’s fresh, glowing ardor into the battle for truth.
Jesus has set the example, dauntless was he young and brave.
Give Him your loyal devotion, give Him the best that you have.”
Numbers 18:12 says “All the best of the oil, and all the best of the wine, and of the wheat, the first fruits of them which they shall offer unto the Lord, them have I given thee.”
I realize I may not exude a picture of success as to how the world sees it, and as a result I cannot give my best to the world.
But I can give my best efforts to Christ….while I am strong, healthy, and at peak performance, intellectually and emotionally.
