Ministry in the Sewer

Before you read this post you'll want to read yesterday's entitled "Christ in the Sewer".

You might could call Christ's incarnation the greatest "mission trip" ever taken. Trust me, there's no summer vision trip to anywhere doing anything that anyone can participate in in this universe that can compare with what Christ did when he "became flesh and dwelt among us." I've had to remember this a number of times during our work in Russia.

• Find myself walking on a levy made of raw asbestos..."The Word became flesh and dwelt among us."
• Visit the tuberculosis capital of Russia..."The Word became flesh and dwelt among us."
• Drink poor water and get...ahem...Stalin's Revenge..."The Word became flesh and dwelt among us."
• Whine because I haven't seen the sun in six weeks..."The Word became flesh and dwelt among us."

There is no cross-culture experience I can have that is of greater contrast than the King of Glory coming to earth, taking on flesh and dwelling among us.

Now here's a shocker for everyone - Ministry is messy. To be a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ means getting dirty, not just your hands, but your whole self. To be "salt and light" in this world, to "go and make disciples of all nations" means going into the sewer.

That doesn't sound nice does it? I'll confess I don't like it. I naturally want to resist it. I don't want to go into the sewer. But there's this command to "go therefore" that just can't be ignored. We are called to go with the message of the gospel to all nations, and where do these "all nations" who don't know Christ live? In the sewer of sin, just like we who know Christ used to live in it.

Now, let me be clear. I am NOT saying that we are the ones who rescue people from the sewer. We are not saviors, but merely messengers of THE Savior Jesus Christ. So we don't go into the sewer as saviors, but as clarions of Christ, telling those at the bottom of the outhouse that there is salvation from the sewer.

But what does this mean practically to "go into the sewer"? Am I speaking literally or metaphorically? I suppose both. Here are some ways we might be called as Christian witnesses to "go into the sewer."

• Physically - To bear witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ you might be called to undergo physical discomfort. There are a lot of possibilities. It might mean going into a filthy roach and rat-infested home. It might mean spending time with someone who smells so bad you can barely keep down your cookies. It could mean spending time in a hospital where people are dying of aids, disease, tuberculosis, etc. Going into the sewer may very well mean in a literal physical ways getting dirty yourself.
• Emotionally - Emotional dirt can be, and often is, more disturbing and difficult to deal with than physical dirt. Have you ever dealt with someone about whom you've said to yourself "He is just messed up."? You probably know who I'm talking about. His or her life is always in chaos, there's always some emergency, everything is blown out of proportion and exaggerated, etc. This person is extremely difficult to deal with. Or how about a person who has sunk into depression, or a woman who's been abused, or a child who's been abandoned. If you open your heart to such a hurting soul in need of the gospel, prepare to go into the sewer for the long haul. Such issues are not resolved overnight.
• Spiritually - This may sound redundant as all of these matters are of course "spiritual." But what I'm talking about is going to places that you are quite certain there is demonic/satanic activity going on. I say this with all of my reformed and cessationist faculties fully intact. But believing that Satan and his minions are not omnipresent, it is reasonable to assume that at any given moment there are places in this world where they are more active than in others. But within some of these pagan temples, high places, and houses where evil abounds are God's elect.

These are only a few applications. Much much more could be said, and I welcome further comments discussing this matter. But the point of all of this is, if you would be a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, if you would be a witness for him then be prepared to get dirty. Christ went into the sewer for you. He doesn't call you to do anything that he himself didn't do.