The Send-sational Aspect of Faith

“Send” has been a big part of the American communications experience. The short-lived Pony Express became legendary for doing its part in delivering mail sent to and from people in the ever-expanding frontier. We’ve long depended on the post office for delivery of mail sent to us: letters, cards, periodicals, bills, packages – and the ever-popular junk mail.

 

To speed up the process, UPS, FedEx and other delivery services were created. Our urgent need to send and receive mail and parcels had to be met. Fax machines emerged to hasten the delivery of important communications. And these days, we’re sending more than ever. Text messages and email transmitted almost instantaneously simply by pressing the “Send” button. Haste can sometimes lead to unfortunate consequences, however, if something’s written impulsively or in anger.

I’m old enough to remember the hit ballad “You Send Me,” first recorded by Sam Cooke and years later by Aretha Franklin. You might also recall these stirring words:

“Darling, you send me

I know you send me

Darling, you send me

Honest you do, honest you do

Honest you do, whoa-oh

 

You thrill me
I know you, you, you thrill me
Darling you, you, you, you thrill me
Honest you do….”

You get the idea. Of course, that was about an entirely different kind of “send.” But I suppose you could say that as a society, we’ve always been a bit “send-sational.”

 

Shifting the focus, have you ever thought about how central the verb “send” is to the Gospel message? Almost from the start, God has been sending His people to other places to carry out His will. 

 

Abram was perfectly content in Haran, but when he was 75 years old, the Lord told him to leave and go to the land of Canaan. When Joseph’s jealous brothers sold him to a passing caravan, they didn’t realize they were part of God’s plan for sending Joseph to Egypt where he would become instrumental in dealing with the coming famine.

 

Jesse, worried about his older sons who fighting with King Saul against the Philistines, sent his shepherd boy son David to bring them food and see if they were safe. Upon arrival, God turned David into a hero, using him to slay the giant Goliath.

 

After four centuries of Egyptian captivity, it was time to God to free His petulant and rebellious chosen people. He sent Moses to demand that Pharaoh free them. He told Moses:

“…I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey…. So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt” (Exodus 3:7-10).

 

Later in the Old Testament we read about God calling Isaiah to prophecy to the nation of Israel – even though he regarded himself as totally unworthy. “‘Woe to me!’ I cried. ‘I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty’” (Isaiah 6:5). Isaiah learned God often sends people not on the basis of ability, but availability.

 

When the Lord called out, Isaiah was ready. “Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send. And who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’’” (Isaiah 6:8). Today, the book of Isaiah is the longest of the prophetic writings; the words God expressed through the prophet still speak to us today.

 

The sending aspect of faith becomes even more prominent in the New Testament. Jesus wanted His message spread throughout the world – the Gospel of salvation, forgiveness, redemption and transformation. To prepare His closest followers to become His ambassadors, the Lord gave them their first missionary assignment:

“…Jesus sent them out with the following instructions: ‘Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. As you go, preach this message: “The kingdom of heaven is near’….” (Matthew 10:5-16).

 

Both Matthew 9:38 and Luke 10:2 recount Jesus’ the urgency of this commission to His followers: “Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field.’”

 

Following Jesus’ resurrection, Jesus made His first appearance to the disciples, who had been cowering in fear in a locked room. He reaffirmed that He was sending them out to tell others about Himself. “Again Jesus said, ‘Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you’” (John 20:21).

 

And the very last words Jesus spoke to His disciples before His ascension to heaven also concerned where He was sending them: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations… teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you…” (Matthew 28:19-20). He also said, "you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8).

 

What does this mean for us? Just as a text message or email is of no value until we press “Send,” our impact as followers of Jesus is minimal unless we’re open to go wherever He might choose to send us. It might be to another part of the world, another state, another city, or just across the street. One thing I know: If we respond in obedience, the result is bound to be "send-sational."