“Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!” (Psalm 67:3)
Psalm 67 captures the heartbeat of the mission of God’s people: longing to see all the peoples of the earth praising our God. Missions is not only about seeing physical needs met or church buildings built. It is not only about keeping people out of hell.
First and foremost, missions is about the glory of God. We are called to declare his glory among the nations so that they might be reconciled to God, saved from their sins, and join the worship of our God and King.
Psalm 67 points us toward our core motivation for missions: we long to see our God praised. Our God is worthy of the praise of all the peoples of the earth. He has sent his Son to rescue us and reconcile us to himself so that we might experience the joy of knowing and worshiping him forever.
In words of Andy Johnson, this “glory of the gospel—not the neediness of mankind—is the self-sustaining fuel for global missions.” Or in the words of John Piper, “worship . . . is the fuel and goal of missions.”
If we want a bigger heart for missions, the first step is to focus on the glory of our God. A bigger heart for missions doesn’t ultimately come from guilt over the neediness of the world. It comes from knowing and saturating ourselves in the wonder of the gospel and worthiness of Christ.
In heaven, this is the song of angels and the redeemed: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” (Rev 5:12). One day a multitude from all the peoples will stand before the throne of God, dressed in white, and praise the Lord (Rev 7:9-10).
In Christ, the nations will be glad and sing for joy on that day (Psa 67:4). We get to be numbered among them, and we get to play a small part in calling others to this joy. What could be better than this?
Theology and Technology 