Unless they are sent

Being “sent” suggests that those who bring the gospel to the “ends of the earth” (Isaiah 52:10) need to go with the support in prayers and authority of the church. It’s wonderful to learn how extensively that has now been done, and of the new fields that are becoming the “ends of the earth”. In the 19th century, Kenya was a nation to whom our churches were sending missionaries to preach the gospel. But last week, a friend in Kenya was amazed to learn that here in Adelaide we have only one location for men’s BSF bible study, as there are several for him in Nairobi.

We are each “sent” by the church to bring the good news at a personal level.

How beautiful are the feet

The second line of the verse is a quote from Isaiah 52:7, and it points to each of the promises covered by those chapters in Isaiah:
i. The release from captivity in Babylon for God’s people of Israel;
ii. The end times of the Day of the Lord;
iii. Our salvation from sin given by Jesus through his sacrifice on the cross.

While we can look forward to (ii), it is in (iii) that we can share our direct experience and joy with the people God brings to us. We may not be aware of it at the time, but God can speak to people through our everyday lives, and unless God calls us to other activities, these are the people to whom we are “sent”.