"Give Up Your Small Ambitions..."

Today I’ve been reading Michael Griffiths’ book “Give Up Your Small Ambitions”, which is an in depth look at missions, with a particular emphasis on those considering going. He says this:

“Francis Xavier was the Jesuit director of missions in India, China and Japan in the sixteenth century. He once said that he longed to be back in Paris “to go shouting up and down the streets to tell the students to give up their small ambitions and come eastward to preach the gospel of Christ”. More than 400 years later, my sentiments would be very similar.”

He goes on to say of the Christian Union movements that:

“In the Inter-Varsity Fellowship [what is now UCCF] Annual Report for 1969, we are reminded that after the first world war “up to fifty per cent of the CU members went abroad as missionaries” and that again after the second world war “a large number of members went abroad”. Yes, but why no now? We need less humming and hawing by the churches and societies. Give us the men and we will finish the job, the Lord being our Helper. The evangelical student movements especially must not give and uncertain sound, but call as loudly and clearly today for world evangelisation as they did in the earliest days.”

I look forward to hearing, and hopefully agreeing, with more of what Griffiths has to say.

God bless.

Dear Freedom