Palm Sunday marks the final week’s journey toward the cross on Calvary. This journey was not only about you and I, even though it included us. It was a journey to see untold hundreds of millions on this planet come to a saving knowledge of God and therefore to bring hope and new life to each of these.

Because we are often so self-absorbed we forget the global implications of the death of Christ. John 3:16 says it well: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” He died for people all over the world. God loves the world and we are to love what He loves. In Matthew 28 Jesus gives us the mission to carry out his mission…globally: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” He does the same thing in Acts 1:8 where he tells his followers, “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.”

The mandate of Jesus was global and our mandate is global. Yet it is a fact that American churches and Christians spend the vast majority of their giving on themselves at the expense of the world. 

I once had an interesting conversation with a gentleman who left a church I was a part of because the church sent money to India to train evangelists. His reasoning? We have enough needs in our backyard, we shouldn’t be sending money to India. Ironically, those in our own country have multiple ways to hear the Gospel while in India, most have never heard the good news. In like fashion I have had people say, “Why would you send missionaries to Muslim countries or communist countries?” Why? Because we are to go wherever Jesus is not well known. Jesus died for the world. In the thinking of those above, certain people don’t deserve to know Jesus. Ironically, they don’t either, but someone shared the Good News with them. None of us deserve God, which is why it is all about God’s grace in our lives.

I have had the privilege of traveling to over 60 countries. Many of these are called “creative access countries” because you cannot send traditional missionaries there. Yes, they are places like India, Muslim nations or communist countries. Never have I found a place where God is not at work. Ever. A little known fact is that in Saudi Arabia, a place hostile to Christianity, there are many, many secret believers. The common factor in their conversion? Jesus appears to the heads of families in dreams and explains that He is the Messiah. When the head of the household comes to Christ, so do the members of his household. There is no place on our planet where God is not at work.

What hinders the spread of the Gospel is often our own inattention to the world. Our own lives absorb our time, energy, attention, and giving. Yet our hearts are to be global, just as Jesus’s heart was global and just as He calls us to make disciples of all nations.

When my father, a civil engineer by college degree, a seminarian by graduate school, and then a doctor via Medical School told his small church plant in Arlington Heights, Illinois that he intended to go to Hong Kong as a medical missionary, many of his successful friends told him not to throw his life away. He was undeterred and was one of many missionaries who went to Asia where the church has gained an amazing foothold in my generation. Millions and millions of Asians are part of God’s Kingdom because of a generation of missionaries who were willing to go, and countless others who supported them financially and in prayer.

Jesus calls us to be global Christians. As global Christians we ought to be concerned for any place in the world where the Gospel is not known, where the name of Jesus is largely unknown, or where the church is under significant pressure. One of those places at this very moment is Ukraine. I just learned that a major seminary leader in Ukraine was executed by Russian forces. I knew Vitaly and I know that God has been doing amazing things in Ukraine. It seems fitting that this Easter week we make an investment in the Gospel by giving to organizations such as World Relief, one of the premier Christian aid organizations on the planet. Look them up and join me in making an investment in Jesus’ name.

Here is a principle to encourage you in spite of the depressing news from Ukraine or other places. Nothing happens in our world, good or bad, that does not first pass by the hands of God and which He does not use to build His church. God is always up to something. Count on it.

It has been said that the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church. This is often the case. In many parts of the world, pastors don’t believe they are qualified to lead until they have suffered for the sake of Christ. It is a humbling experience to be with them and listen to their stories. Our own situation is so very different.

Let me encourage you to develop a global heart. Pray for Gods’ work around the world. Generously support mission and evangelism work globally. Find ways to encourage those who go, as well as Christians on the global scene. A good way to start is to go online and make a gift to World Relief in the name of Jesus.

Father, forgive me for my self-absorption. Forgive me for not paying attention to what you are doing globally. Give me a heart for what your heart beats for. May my investments financially and in prayer result in many coming to know you. Amen.

The Question for Today: Am I willing to make a contribution to World Relief for Ukraine in Jesus’ name?