God's Vision

God's Vision

A little over forty years ago, when I was a young minister, I met a man whom I believe was a very great missionary. Though I doubt he would have considered himself so, his works confirmed the fact. This man, William W. Simpson, was instrumental in founding numerous churches throughout northwestern China after the turn of the century. Many miracles followed his ministry.

Simpson began his missionary work in China in 1892 and remained among the Chinese people for 47 years. When Communist forces took over the mainland, he was driven to Taiwan. Eventually he returned to America. He was 81 when I met him. He had come to speak at the small church where I was pastoring.

During his visit Mr. Simpson told me that he wanted to return to Taiwan to work the rest of his days among the people he had grown to love. But his mission board wanted him to speak at various churches, encouraging others to become involved in missionary service. He told me that he still longed to spend his final days with the Chinese.
This short visit by this elderly man of God had a peculiar and lasting effect on my life.

One day I happened to bring out a tape recorder I'd just purchased. When he saw it, he asked if he could use it to record a tape-letter to a young man he had worked with for many years. This friend of his had also been driven from China and had moved to another mission field.

Delighted to help this elderly man of God, I let him use the recorder. He sat down at our livingroom table and began speaking into the recorder. From Scripture and from his heart he spoke a message to his young co-worker about things that were to come upon the earth. He talked of a great movement of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. He spoke of the church glorifying throughout the earth as never before in history.

For half an hour I sat with him, entranced by what I heard. He said he believed that God would overthrow the Iron Curtain. The Bamboo Curtain would be broken open. Many of the governments now oppressing the gospel of Jesus Christ would crumble. At the same time the church would rise to do its work of teaching and witnessing and healing and exalting Jesus. As never before Christians would unite in a great movement of God's Spirit. Everything spoken of in the Bible about the church and her glory would come to pass. And it would be clear to all that this was the doing of a Sovereign and Mighty God. He would receive the glory.

When he finished, we rewound the tape and tried to play it, but the tape was blank. We tried again, but it wouldn't record. I offered to exchange the recorder or have it fixed so that he could make the letter. But he said no and seemed to be very much at peace about the whole incident. The next day he left.
A few days later I decided to try the tape recorder once more before returning it to the store. It worked perfectly. That puzzled me because it had worked fine just before we tried to make the tape-letter and now it worked again. It all seemed rather strange.

As the years passed I realized that the message of this aged missionary-this man of great insight and vision-was not meant for his friend on the mission field. It was meant for me. And it was a message that I took seriously.
My life didn't change immediately as a result of what I'd heard. But years later those words would come alive for me, and I would begin to understand God's great vision for the church.

Although that missionary from China did not specifically use the word vision, he was a man of vision. He saw what God wanted to accomplish on the earth. He understood God's intention for the church and for each Christian. And by God's sovereign will this man imparted that vision to me.

Scripture teaches us about God's vision, showing us what He wants to accomplish in the world, in the church, and in each believer.

As I have come to understand it, God's vision has three distinct facets, which point us toward God, toward our fellow Christians, and toward the unbelieving world. In these three important ways God will be glorified and Jesus exalted, not only in our personal lives but in nations throughout the world.

What is God's vision? I have come to recognize three things that together form God's vision for the church and for each member of the church: 1) We are to know God in an ever-deepening personal relationship and be conformed to the nature of Jesus Christ; 2) We are to grow in our love for all believers, working for the unity of the church; 3) We are to take the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ to all men.

Be conformed to Christ, committed to the unity of the church, set to proclaim the gospel to the world. These three things form God's vision, His intention for individual Christians, for the church, and for the world. As we work to accomplish these goals, God will be glorified and Jesus exalted.

Scripture points to these goals repeatedly. It speaks of the importance of knowing the Lord personally, of loving Him, and of becoming like Jesus. A major emphasis of New Testament teaching speaks about Christian unity and relationships between believers. And God's Word turns us outward, toward the world; it tells us to take the name and story of Jesus to all men.
When we open our hearts to God's will, it follows that we will want to pursue His vision. But in doing so, we must remember to keep His purpose foremost. We seek to be like Jesus for a higher purpose: so that God will be glorified through us. We work for church unity and harmony among believers for this higher purpose so that God's love will be manifested through the church. And we proclaim the good news of Jesus so that the Lord will be magnified before all men.
We were created to glorify God, to love Him supremely, and to enjoy fellowship in His presence forever. That must be the motive behind all our work for God and we seek to fulfill the high and worthy vision He has set before us.

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