The Gospel of Self-Preservation

At the frontier missions consultation I recently attended one of the things we were challenged in was to continue mobilizing people to the least reached, even though many of the remaining places are not considered "safe" by any stretch of the imagination.  Within this was a call to search our hearts and see if we truly believe that seeing Jesus worshiped in all the ethne of the world is worth the price.  This was an especially powerful word coming from a colleague whose husband was martyred in North Africa.  These words were still resonating in my mind when I came across this quote:

“When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer  

I think we've lost touch with, or chosen to ignore, this aspect of the gospel.   We've replaced it with a gospel of self-preservation, one that places value on avoiding putting ourselves or those we love in positions where they might suffer.  While Jesus did say, "my yoke is easy, and my burden is light (Matt 11:30),"  He also said "If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. (John 15:20)"

How does this apply to our usual topic of the least reached?  Simply put, there is a cost involved in reaching the least reached.  It can be anything from leaving friends, family, or comfortable surroundings to paying a high price.  Within my circle of friends there are those who, while working in these areas have been imprisoned, found themselves on a terrorist organization's list of kidnapping targets, and another who walked through the death of his infant son.  The common theme is that, while walking through difficult situations, they all saw the kingdom of heaven advance in dark places.  I think one of the big reasons we haven't been more faithful in pursuing our biblical mandate to "bless all the families of the earth (Gen 12:3)" is this:   

We have counted the cost.... and found ourselves unwilling to pay it.