The Role of Sacrifice in Missions

The story goes that the chicken and the pig were discussing their contributions toward the farmer’s breakfast.  The chicken had given up an egg and the pig had given up his right hind quarter. The pig observed, “What you gave was a donation. What I gave was a sacrifice!”

We were driving along in the dark of night. My family had just arrived in America after another three-year tour and a 72-hour ordeal of a flight from Kenya. I was absolutely exhausted from another tour of living and working in the bush of equatorial Africa. After repeated bouts of malaria and dysentery, my body was worn out.

I had endured another three years of worshiping in a language and style that left much to be desired. I was spiritually depleted. I had no close friends to share my emotions, frustrations, and dreams with. I was emotionally bankrupt. Ahead of me would be nearly four months and 12,000 miles of travel, reporting to churches in 12 states—accompanied by meetings with mission committees and elderships, pleading for another three-year commitment to my mission.

I was financially broke, had no credit nor credit card, and as I neared the age of 40 was realizing that I had no savings toward retirement. I wondered how we would survive when I was no longer able to work. I was returning home with a sense of utter despair. 

My driver was a multi-millionaire businessman. His was a hardworking, focused, rags to riches story. He couldn’t wait to share with me the amazing growth of his company, the construction of his dream home, the purchase of the new Jaguar for his wife, and the super successes of his children. I was having a difficult time in fulfilling the Biblical precedent of “rejoicing with those who rejoice.”

When it was my turn, I opened my heart and my mouth and shared with Norman the scope of my concerns. We drove along in silence until he finally responded in a way I will never forget. He said, “Ken, I don’t think anybody put a gun to your head and forced you to be a missionary!”

I was flabbergasted! What kind of a callous, hard hearted, insensitive, bone-headed remark was this to make to someone in such a condition. It infuriated me! That remark remained embedded in my mind and heart for years! But I have realized over the years that his was a prophetic and absolutely Biblical observation.

It is a truth that every missionary must face and reckon with. Nobody made us do it—not even God! We each had a sense of calling and were willing to accept the challenges and sacrifices that such a calling requires.

In later years, I found myself doing research on the subject of sacrifice. Growing up in Georgia, I had never experienced an animal sacrifice. However, in interviews with over 120 native folks among some 40 different tribal groups, I had discovered a commonality.

And so I developed a hypothesis. Common among all subjects are the following absolutes:

1.The thing offered in sacrifice must be both valuable (expensive) and Holy (sacred).

2.The offerer of the sacrifice must be Holy (righteous).

3.The way the sacrifice is offered (rites and rituals) must be Holy.

4.The place where the sacrifice is offered must be made Holy.

Here is what I have learned: 

The book of Hebrews declares Jesus to be the “perfect sacrifice,” so much so that his was done one time—once and for all. He is also declared to be the perfect and righteous priest who offered himself.  Nobody murdered him. He gave himself up voluntarily. He did it perfectly without a glitch, fulfilling all that both his father and the law required. And, he did it in exactly the right place—among fellow criminals, on a hill above a trash heap, outside “the camp,” and outside the walls of Jerusalem,

Every missionary has to survey and be aware of the meaning of what Jesus meant when he said, “Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:27). That cross was the “altar” of sacrifice on which Jesus offered himself. Paul tells us in Romans 12 that we, like Jesus, must offer ourselves as ‘living sacrifices’ on the altar, on our own crosses.

Missionaries for 2,000 years have sensed a calling from Jesus. Most have paid heavy prices, physically, financially, emotionally, and spiritually. I think of Hudson Taylor and his groundbreaking work in China. I think of William Carey, who traveled to India in 1793. The horrendous sacrifices he made over 41 years of service resulted in Bible translations into 37 languages. Today, Indian converts are still made using Bibles he helped translate.

I think of my co-workers who have buried wives and children in foreign lands so that the Kingdom could be increased. Yet, each one would say (as Norman said to me long ago), “Nobody put a gun to our heads and told us that we had to do it.”

Missionaries are compelled by the love of Jesus, encouraged by the examples of those who have gone before us, and have an understanding of the billions of people who are lost and the power of the gospel to save. You see, some make donations, and others make sacrifices. Either way, the Kingdom continues to grow!

Having lived in Kenya and Liberia, Ken and his late wife, Ann, brought countless men and women to the Lord. Ken served as World Radio Director from 2003 to 2009 and currently serves at WFR Church.