Go Beyond

Amazonas, Brazil

The last command of Jesus to His disciples was for them to move toward inconvenient places — to take the good news from familiar fields toward the ragged edges of the earth. Doing so meant creating distance between the conveniences of home and the uncertainties of far horizons. Fortunately for us, because of those intrepid souls who were willing to venture afar, the good news reached all the way to where we live.

The last command of Christ has not changed. As hard as it may be to believe, there are still people today who live in places that keep them distanced from the gospel. Some people are kept in darkness by cultures that are hostile to the gospel. Others just happen to have been born in inconvenient places that present more of a geographical challenge.

I have returned once again to the Amazon at the invitation of friends from Carlisle Baptist Church in Florida. The Amazon is, unquestionably, an inconvenient place. There are thousands of villages pressed against the muddy banks of the mighty Amazon River by dense jungle — places that can only be accessed by way of the river. Reaching these villages means lots of travel under the guidance of those who know the river and how to navigate it.

A map can show locations and routes from Point A to Point B and beyond. However, a map is not adequate to explain what it’s like to spend hours and hours watching nothing but the vast rainforest go by. As magnificent as this geography is, it is what keeps the people who live here at arm’s length from the gospel and the resources that can help new believers grow in their faith.

By the time we reach our first village we will have traveled some twenty-five-plus hours down river from Manaus. We are fortunate to have a good boat that will serve as our base camp as we travel from village to village over the coming days. Our team hopes to connect with those who have yet to hear and respond to the gospel and to invest in those who have previously embraced the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ.

I personally like and prefer to move toward inconvenient places. I love meeting the people who live in these hard places. I am under obligation or in debt to them. I owe them Jesus Christ. I want for them to have the opportunity to hear and respond to the message that has transformed my life.

And honestly, a week or two of inconveniences is a really small price to pay to help someone who lives in a hard place discover the surpassing value of knowing Christ. After all, as A.W. Tozer wisely noted, the kingdom of God never advances at our convenience, only at our inconvenience.