Why are missionary stories helpful and inspiring for God’s people?

I think it's important for us to understand that anytime we see a Christian person lay down their lives for Christ, we see them find their real joy in eternity with the Lord— such that they will go to the furthest reaches of the earth and suffer the most difficult trials so that Christ is honored there. They will give up the comforts and joys of this life, even those with regard to their children or grandchildren, the opportunities, the riches, the things that are really placed in front of us, because they are enraptured by the glory of Christ and want to see Him known and want to see people saved.

Whenever we see that in someone's life, I think it inspires all of us. We all know that there's something about that that rings true, something that's probably missing in our own lives, in our own hearts. And so we want to do more of it ourselves. It causes us to pray more that we would be like them.

And that's really, to some degree, why we ought to tell these missionary stories. Paul told the church to "follow me as I follow Christ." And really what we're hoping to do is say to our congregations, "Hey, follow these people as they followed Christ." Inasmuch as they did that well, follow their example, and maybe the Lord would be pleased to reach more people through our own church.

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