Why you should listen to Jesus, the Pope, and Bono

In case you haven't already heard, this month's theme for FOCUSequip is Missions! Why should I care about missions, you ask? Well, a few reasons (in order of descending importance)

1. Jesus says so- Jesus Christ is present in every human being. Don't believe me? I will let Jesus speak for himself:

   "Then the King will say to those at his right hand, 'Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' And the King will answer them, ' Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.'" (Matthew 25:34-40)

2. The Pope says so- In his very FIRST encyclical, Pope Benedict XVI stressed the importance of caring for those less fortunate than us.

   "Love for widows and orphans, prisoners, and the sick and needy of every kind, is as essential to the Church as the ministry of the sacraments and preaching of the Gospel” (Deus Caritas Est, 22).

3. Bono says so- Maybe you could score a couple backstage passes to a U2 concert if Bono knew you were going on a mission trip... at least its okay to dream, isn't it?

   "To me, a faith in Jesus Christ that is not aligned with the poor ... it's nothing." -Bono

Wow... That is pretty sobering. Our love for Christ must compel us to share His love with others- and not just those whom it is easy to share it with, those who look nice and smell nice, but with every human person, especially the poor. The world is searching and seeking for answers to suffering and the countless problems of society, and the only way to answer these questions is to pour ourselves out in loving service to our brothers and sisters. Talk is cheap. Action speaks volumes. And they will know we are Christians by our love....

So, it would be cruel to speak of all this and not provide you the opportunity to partake in this Christ-centered service. Ergo... FOCUS is blessed to have an entire department dedicated to this cause: FOCUS Missions. They have 30 mission trips going out this year! Is Christ calling you out of your comfort zone and into the mission field? Well, we here at FOCUSequip this month hope to help you discern that call. Keep an eye out as we post some blogs on the importance of mission for our faith and as we highlight some of the different missions that FOCUS goes on and tell you more about them through our blog, Facebook, and Twitter. The application deadline for Spring Break Mission Trips is DECEMBER 15TH! That is only 10 days away! So we will be filling you in on those missions first! So stay tuned and hopefully you will find Him whom you are looking for...