Nowadays, Mission seems to fall into oblivion. It does not have such magnitude as it had in the past. Some modern ideas seem to impair their necessity for us. Why is mission being faded from view in some areas of evangelization? Needless to say, there is an evolution in the Missiology and Theology of religions. We now have a new understanding of the Mission in our modern day. When we engage in religious and faith dialogue, we take cognizance of the love of God that is beyond our understanding and telling. His salvation is deployed to every creature. When Jesus came to save us, he assumed everything. All the more reason, “what is not assumed is not saved (Gregory Nazianzen). We are all (Christians and non-Christians) saved by Christ free of Charge. The Spirit of the Lord is on each of us. It is not limited by anything. The salvation that started continues in different ways. The Lord who reached us continues to prick our hearts so that we may live as God does. On this, Salvation is not a matter of the past, but it is ongoing. It is the Already and also Not Yet. God is still saving us. God is not saving those who have known him only but every creature. Everything is in the realm of gracious God’s salvation.
According to that which precedes, we may think that Mission is no longer necessary. However, it is still imperative to respond to the mandate of Christ. Even though God is not bound to any religion to save his people, He wants to bring everyone to his recognition. It is difficult to get into a relationship with someone we don't know. We really need to know the one who is making us act, and so save us. Saint Paul sheds more light on this when he says: “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?” (Rom10: 14). Moreover, "without faith it is impossible to please him” (Heb11:6).
That’s why we see how some non-Christians, who have already been doing some good works, are being led by God to know him (cf. The centurion, Acts 10). In this way, we, as missionaries, are being led by God to meet the non-Christians. The meeting with the latter is not something that we initiate, but God does. God sends us to those he prepared, to those whom he visited without them knowing Him yet. On this, we understand why proselytism is no longer useful. The mission is based on an encounter. We are sent to Mission, as instruments of the Lord, to witness to the Lord. We are just like the ballpen that God uses to write in the hearts of non-Christians. As Pope Paul VI put it in 1975, "Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses" Whether I am preaching the Gospel or not, my life should be a living testimony so that those who see me may see the image of Christ. In me, they may encounter the loving, bountiful and merciful God.
Overall, announcing Christ and his Gospel is still a necessity in our missionary life. Everyone has the right to know Christ, our Redeemer. There is no salvation outside Christ’s event. This is expounded in these terms, “…there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name (except Jesus’) under heaven that has been given among mankind by which we must be saved” (Acts4:12). We also understand that the bounty of God goes beyond our understanding. Christ is able to save everyone in a way unknown to us. On this, we don’t judge anyone as being out of the realm of Christ’s salvation. In fact, “God our Savior, wills all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth” (1Tim2:3-4). This gives me hope while still holding fast to the mandate of Christ. Everyone needs to be born anew to see the kingdom of God (cf. John 3:3). What is to be born anew if not to come to the knowledge of Christ and let him be the ruler of each one’s life? My contribution is irreplaceable in helping people to reach such a second birth in Christ. Then, God will take care of the rest.
