Why doesn’t God “beam us up” as soon as we believe? Maybe it is because He wants us to experience the joy of partnering with our Heavenly Father and the fulfillment that comes from making a difference together.

Jason: Joining God in His great passion reminds me of helping my Dad mow the lawn when I was a boy. In hindsight, I know he was doing all the work, but he let me grab the handle and push the mower with him. Then he would smile as I ran into the house shouting with joy, “I mowed the lawn!”

Jim: I enjoyed seeing his excitement as much as he enjoyed the sense of fulfillment.

We see the same enjoyment played out in the gospels as Father and Son work to woo the world. We also experience it as we join the Father in His work. As our love for Him grows, we learn to love what He loves and whom He loves.

So, whom does God love? Most any kid in Sunday School likely knows that one. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).” Lost people matter. God thinks they are worth all the blood, sweat, and tears it took to ransom them. Since they are important to God, they should matter to everyone who truly loves God.

God has a heart for the nations. His passion is evident. There are over 5,000 Bible references to the nations by name (e.g., Greeks, Babylonians, and Moabites) or by allusion (e.g., tongues, tribes, and nations). On average, that’s about five times per chapter (according to research done through Biblegateway.com, New International Version).

God told Abram, “I will bless those who bless you…and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed (Genesis 12:3).” This means that our Heavenly Father had a passion for all people since the beginning.

In Matthew 28:18–20, Jesus continues to live out His Father’s passion. He commissions us to join Him in making disciples of all nations. The Greek word for nations is ethne (as in “ethnic”). An ethne is an ethnolinguistic group like the Sioux of North America or the Bedawi Bedouins of Egypt.

Jesus promised His disciples they would get to participate in the Father’s plan when He said: “…You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth (Acts 1:8).”

Wasn’t Jesus looking forward to Acts 1:8 when He took the twelve disciples on all those field trips? They went to Jerusalem and Judea. He took them to Samaria three times. Today we call these excursions short-term missions (STMs).

Jesus even took the disciples on ends-of-the-earth outings. In Mark 5 & 7, Jesus took the twelve on an STM to non-Jewish Decapolis, where He cast out Legion and fed 4,000 hungry people. Because He loved the lost, He even took them across another border into Lebanon where He healed a demon-possessed girl near Tyre.

The Bible makes it clear that God has a heart for all nations. So why focus on Muslims? One explanation is the spread of Islam. The Institute on Culture, Religion & World Affairs at Boston University concluded that through 2000–2010, Islam was the fast growing religion in the world.

The growing influence of Islam is a reality. It is growing through population and conversions. Nearly one in every four people on Earth is Muslim, and one in five countries now have Muslim majorities. Shockingly though, the vast majority of Muslims have not yet met a follower of Jesus because only 6% of all missionaries work with Muslims—that’s one for every 100,000 Muslims.

Islam poses a huge challenge to Christians. In the aftermath of 9/11 and recent news from the Middle East, there is lingering suspicion that if you are a Muslim you must be a terrorist. Despite clear evidence that the majority of Muslims are gracious people, misgivings thrive and fears multiply. The Bible says, “Perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18).”

Even if every Muslim was a jihadist, we are called to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44). Moreover, even if every follower of Islam were a dyed-in-the-wool pacifist, our mission would still remain. Jesus offers us life to the full (John 10:10). If we know Jesus, and love the people God loves, then we must tell them the Good News.

Not only do we have a mandate to love our enemies and make disciples of all nations, we also have an incredible opportunity. In his book Experiencing God, Henry Blackaby says, “Find out where God is working and join him.” Providentially, God is doing amazing things among Muslims.

In the July 2013 issue of Mission Frontiers, Robby Butler reported the results of his investigation into why God was shaking up Islam:

• Intercession: Christians are increasingly praying for Muslims.
• Qur‘anic verses about Jesus and the Bible: According to Ben Naja, “Jesus” references are a primary factor in the movements he researched.
• Exposure to Scripture: Muslims are taking advantage of their growing access to God’s word.
• Loving Initiative from Christians: Friendship with Muslim neighbors is proving an important bridge for the Gospel.
• Kingdom Focus: Many Muslims are more open to meeting the King and entering God’s kingdom than identifying with the depravity of Western culture by becoming “Christians.”
• Miracles, Dreams, and Visions: God is intervening sovereignly and powerfully in the lives of Muslims, especially as Christians pray with Muslims for their needs in the name of Isa al Masih (Jesus the Messiah).
• Laborers: God is raising up laborers from China, the Philippines, Brazil and Africa—as well as from North America. China’s “Back to Jerusalem” movement alone is attempting to send 100,000 laborers, with many of those heading to the Muslim world.
• Muslim-Background Believers (MBBs): Thousands who have received the Holy Spirit through faith in Jesus now carry a burden for their people.
• Disciple-Making Movements (DMMs): Christians are learning to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit in catalyzing DMMs rather than just winning a few individuals. Movements are breaking out all over the world.
• Discovery Models of Ministry: Christians are learning to enjoy fruitful interaction with Muslims through effective and non-confrontational approaches such as Bible Storytelling, Discovery Bible Study, Any-3, Sowing God’s Kingdom, and Path of the Prophets.
• Boldness: Fear of Islam is giving way to love and understanding through a variety of excellent training options.

Someday there will be a joyous celebration before the throne of God. The Church will have fulfilled its destiny, and God’s desire will come to pass. On that day, the Lamb of God will be worshiped and adored. “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb (Revelation. 7:9).”

There’s a way for us to grab hold, join the Father in His work, and make a difference in who joins the great multitude before the throne. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to look around and see people we have loved, loving Jesus? Then, we might agree with God that they were worth all the blood, sweat, and tears it took to bring them the Good News.

Jason & Jim are a father and son who have both held global pastoral positions in churches around the United States. They are active participants in recruiting and mobilizing others from within their church body to reach unengaged Muslims with the Gospel.

Original article: www.godofall.org/blood-sweat-tears