Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. – Arthur C. Clarke

As people watched intently in Bulal Village, I worked on some things using a notebook computer, using some of the precious little electricity I got walking a mile to a church that had a connection to a generator. In Melanesian village culture, people watch and listen to learn what others are doing. This works great for basic life skills, like cooking over a fire, hunting, fishing, coconut husking, learning languages, building bush houses, gardening, canoe construction, etc. In the case of things I do on computers, it is a woefully difficult way to learn. You can’t really see what is going on in the computer and in my mind, just by looking. I might visualize data structures, algorithms, and program flow in my mind while all an observer sees is that I am poking buttons and silently looking at incomprehensible (to him) text on a screen. Now, as I work at electronic Scripture publishing in many languages, it is kind of like that even for observers who have much more formal education and who even use computers themselves. I imagine that it looks something like this to the casual observer: I sit down at my computer, wave the mouse, press buttons, study the screen, press some more buttons, and lo and behold, web sites appear on the public Internet with translations of the New Testament and other Bible portions in many languages. The more I do that, the more Scripture translations appear. Cool, huh? Of course, I get some interesting questions about that.
Q: How do you learn all of those languages?
A: I don’t. Teams of Bible translators spend a lot of time, usually between 3 and 30 years, to learn a language and translate a New Testament into that language. I just help with the electronic publishing of the Scriptures once it is ready. The number of people involved in translating all of the Scriptures I have posted so far, plus all who support them, adds up to a true army of people.
Q: How do you type all of those languages?
A: First, I don’t retype Bibles. Think about that. A good typist can type 33 words per minute at simple transcription in a language  she understands, and there are about 788,280 words in the Bible. That means it would take about 50 8-hour days of fast typing to do one if I could type as fast with a language I can’t read as a good typist can with one she can read. But I do type small amounts here and there. From time to time, I need to type some characters not found in English, like a r̃ or ŋ. For those, I either use an alternate language keyboard layout, or if it is only a few characters, insert them from a character map. I also made an alternate keyboard layout of my own that contains every character found in every written Papua New Guinean language.
Q: Do you have a computer translate Bibles?
A: No. Machine translation of natural languages is tolerable, if somewhat humorous at times and dead wrong at other times, for a few of the largest language groups. This is the result of a great deal of work and refinement for large customer bases. Nobody does that kind of work for the little tribal languages. Not yet, anyway. Even if they did, it would still take human review to make sure it was right.
Q: Don’t computers help the process of Bible translation?
A: Yes, of course. They greatly assist in the process of Bible translation, especially with some of the new software that is being made available to Bible translators, like Adapt It. Good Bible translation remains utterly dependent on humans who are utterly dependent on God.
Q: Are you a one-man show?
A: No. There is no way to do this by myself. This project involves cooperation and coordination between several organizations and many people. I work with people in different countries helping with different aspects of the process of Bible translation and publication. There are also others who work on electronic Scripture publishing in other geographic areas.
Q: So what do you actually do?
A: I help write open source software that processes Scripture files, essentially typesetting them into different formats. These formats are are then made available to people to read and study the Bible on various electronic devices. I also create and maintain several related web sites. My goal is to post Scriptures without barriers to making and sharing faithful copies so that they can spread to as many people who can read them as possible. I’m focusing right now on the Pacific area, but have helped a few people in other areas.
Q: How fast can you post new Bible translations and formats?
A: That depends on many things. It depends on what format I get the Scripture in and how much work I have to do to get the files into the format expected by the conversion programs. It depends on when I get translations and permission to post. It depends on how long it takes to write software to convert to a new format. The biggest limit to the speed of this work is the time it takes to actually translate the Holy Bible. Actually running the software and posting Scriptures is very fast, once the software is ready and the Scriptures are in the correct input format. This can make for some impressive bursts of speed, but there can be longer delays between postings while working on more challenging input formats (like, for example, paper only) and writing software to produce alternate output formats (like software for specific Bible study programs). The net result looks like intermittent bursts of activity that are hard to predict.
Q: How many many languages have you posted Scriptures for?
A: That is a rapidly-moving target, right now. Check out the current count at PNGScriptures.org and VanuatuBibles.org. I suppose you could count English, too, with eBible.org.
Q: Do you do any actual Bible translation?
A: Yes, for the World English Bible, which I’m the senior editor and chief bottleneck for. Please pray that I stop being a bottleneck and start being more of an editor. Its claim to fame is being free. Free of copyright. Free of hassles. Free to use and publish. It is a bold statement that I believe that God’s Word really belongs to God, not me. If it were copyrighted and designed to make money, there would be no need for it, really. There are already plenty of those in English.
Q: Are the Scriptures you post whole Bibles?
A: Only a few are. Most of the minority languages don’t have a whole Bible translation. Many have a New Testament. Some have a few books of the Old Testament and/or New Testament. Some only have one book. I post whatever has been translated and sent to me for posting.
Q: Does anyone else post freely downloadable Scriptures on line?
A: Yes. One good example is ScriptureEarth.org, which hosts over 230 minority languages spoken in North and South America. We keep in touch with each other and, where practical, help each other. I’m concentrating on the Pacific nations.
Q: Who is going to read and listen to the Scriptures you post?
A: The current primary audience is the diaspora. Those are the people who have moved from their remote villages into towns and cities where they have Internet access, access to computers and smart phones, etc. The secondary audience is those who already have that access in their own villages. The secondary audience will grow in time, and become primary, as access to technology and networks improve in remote areas.
Q: Will electronic Scriptures replace printed Bibles?
A: No, but they make a great supplement. There are many advantages to electronic Scriptures. I carry an impressive library of Bible translations to church in my smart phone, but I’m not ready to get rid of my paper Bibles altogether. People’s preferences and situations will vary. The more ways to get God’s Word to people, the better.
Q: What do you charge for Bible software and Bible web hosting services?
A: Nothing.
Q: What do you charge people for downloadable Bibles?
A: Nothing.
Q: Who pays for the costs of Scripture web hosting, other ministry expenses, and your cost of living?
A: Our partners. May God bless them all!

Very early Friday morning, 21 January 2011, I had a dream in which I saw a very large house in which we were working and living. It was in the mountains, and a creek ran between the house and a tall volcanic mountain. From time to time, hot lava rocks fell from the top of the volcano and landed in the creek, where they cooled and solidified. Nobody was afraid of the rocks, because they seemed to pose no threat, and any fire started across the creek would be quenched before it reached the house, even though the house was not far from the creek. This went on for some time, and people ignored it, eventually. Then I looked and saw an open crack, a fumarole, from which toxic gasses (H2S, etc.) came from deep in the earth. People looked at it, then carried on after a while, becoming used to both the hot rocks from the top and the fumarole. Again I looked, and the fumarole started slowly oozing hot lava. It attracted attention again, people took pictures, then got used to it and carried on. The lava stopped and froze at the creek, boiling lots of the water in the process. Nobody saw a threat, so they carried on as usual. Then the Lord told me to pack up and get ready to leave, so my family and some others did. Some didn’t. We had all of our stuff in the cars and trucks behind the building. Then I saw the hill across the creek starting to bulge, and the Lord told me to tell everyone to leave. Some did. Some did not. One crazy woman went and stood on the lava flow, and burned to death. She had told her daughter to go with her, but we kept her with us, instead. The Lord told me to give a last warning, so I did. Then those who were willing went to the loaded vehicles and drove away. As we left the area, there was a huge explosion of lava, rock, and gasses behind us, leaving no survivors among those who did not listen.
It was a vivid dream, with more details than I have written. It reminded me of the watchman warning to Ezekiel (33:6-7). The interpretation may be obvious, but I reserve the right to state the obvious. People get used to sin in increments, and don’t always perceive the danger that they should when they should when it gets close to them by degrees. Woe unto those who don’t heed the voice of the Lord, directly and through prophets, but listening and obeying can save your life, which is far more valuable than anything you might leave behind.

I got a call from someone claiming to be from Microsoft, today, wanting to warn me that my computer was downloading viruses from the Internet continuously. They lied. Microsoft doesn’t do that! Criminals who want to steal your money, damage your reputation, and take over your computer do that. Beware! If you get such a call, don’t even THINK about following their instructions.

Once again, I’m tasked with writing a missionary prayer letter. Unlike this blog, its size is limited. I guess that I could write. “We need money for our mission work. Please send some every month.” Or I could give the amount. That is difficult, because if I give the amount, then it just begs for an explanation. The explanation is long, complicated, and full of uncertainties. Our income is currently variable. Wildly variable. I usually use a one year running average to figure out what our income really is. We have a few partners who give the same amount every month, like clockwork. May God bless them. That helps keep the minimums from being zero. We have some who give sporadically. We have some who give only at times and in response to conditions, like bonuses, that we can’t predict. It all adds up, and helps keep us working full time in Christian missions. We greatly appreciate all who give whatever the Lord puts on their hearts to give, because without that, we couldn’t keep doing what the Lord has put on our hearts. That is very Scriptural. Even Paul and Jesus had people who gave to them in support of their physical needs while they went on their missionary journeys. (Phil. 1:5; 4:13-17; Luke 8:1-3; etc.). There are other ways to fund missionary work, but this is the model used by the mission organizations we work with. It leads to good accountability between those who go and those who send them, encourages people to pray for the missionaries they support, and is remarkably efficient. It is especially good when all involved (both the goers and the senders) are sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

I have known missionaries who don’t think it is proper to tell people how much they need, but just to pray. Most, however, don’t mind giving people a clue as to how well supported they are. This, of course, involves doing some math to figure out. I suppose that some might think that missionaries would tend to raise too much money and live excessively. I know MANY missionaries, and I haven’t actually met anyone like that. Usually, the opposite problem prevails. It is HARD to raise support. We would just as soon be done with it all and just get on with the work God has called us to, without having to worry if there will be enough money in the bank to pay the necessary bills. So what usually happens is that they raise just barely enough– and then only if their mission organization makes them raise a minimum amount. As time goes on, support tends to decay. People lose jobs, die, lose interest, or whatever, and stop giving. Sometimes churches split, die, or decide to reallocate their mission money. This forces the missionary back to fund raising, or worse yet, off of the mission field to get a paying job.

So how do we come upon an amount that we need to raise for support? In our case, we used two different methods, and they both came out to about the same amount. Method one was to use a formula given by a large and respected mission organization (Wycliffe Bible Translators), using a spreadsheet that they supply to their members. Method 2 was to add up the expenses we knew we had committed to (tithes, taxes, insurance, utilities, cheap housing, food, school fees, ministry supplies, transportation, etc.), and see what that came to. Both methods came to within a couple hundred dollars a month of each other, so we figured that it was reasonable and that we could survive on that and still devote our full attention to the ministries God has called us to.

Two questions come to mind regarding the actual amount. The first is “Why so much? It looks like more than most people make!” The answer, of course, is that most people are thinking of their take-home pay, and not the fully burdened cost to the employer of having them work for them. There is a huge difference in those numbers, consisting of facilities, supplies, retirement, taxes that you see on your pay stub, taxes you don’t see on your pay stub, insurance, travel, corporate utilities, etc. Missionaries like us have to raise support to cover the full cost of all of that plus a share of the organizational overhead, because there isn’t another place for that money to come from. And yes, we have to pay taxes, too. We often pay taxes in more than one country. So really, it takes some math to compare income on a fair basis. When you do the math, it usually comes out with the missionary looking poorer than the people supporting him or her.

The next question is “Why so little? How can you possibly live on so much?” I’m not making this up. I had to answer that question on scholarship applications for my sons in college in follow-up questions. It is as if they thought we must be hiding income or something, but we reported it all. Anyway, I’m not sure how we do it. Sometimes we don’t, and we go back into debt for a while. Sometimes we cheat ourselves by not making retirement fund contributions so that we can buy food now. Sometimes our living expenses are really low because we are off in a jungle somewhere with no place to go shopping. To be honest, we really should raise a higher amount.

There are other ways to finance missions, with varying credibility and results. The best alternate strategy seems to be the one where the sending organization separates fund raising and mission activities, and just pays missionaries fixed salaries and benefits appropriate to their mission field. Some well-known and effective organizations do this. It solves some problems, but creates others… and frequently results in fewer missionaries on the field. A close runner-up is the one where a missionary is self-funded. Few can actually pull this off for long. I know of a few “retired” people who can. It also works for some short-term missions, but rarely for a career in missions. Then there are the spurious suggestions of multi-level marketing, or worse yet, “Nigerian” scams. I know of one missionary who sent more money than he had to such a scammer, and had to leave the mission field and work a secular job for a few years to pay back what he had been tricked out of. Needless to say, no large inheritance or windfall funds were forthcoming after the “fees” were paid.

The one way that certainly doesn’t work is to expect the unevangelized to pay for the costs of bringing the Gospel to them before they even understand the infinite value of the Gospel, which is supposed to be given freely, anyway. No, it is the responsibility and privilege of those who believe in Jesus Christ already to bear the burden of obeying the Great Commission as both senders and goers. The law of LOVE compels us to make it so.

I am passionate about getting God’s Word to people where they are, in a language they can understand. I believe in the heart-transforming power of God’s Word so much that I actually left behind work as a well-paid software engineer and went full time into Christian missions. Instead of a regular, predictable paycheck, we have lived on donations for the past decade and focused on using our talents and skills to advance the Kingdom of God. Has it been worth it? YES! Will my wife and I continue to do this? Of course!

Technology is advancing, providing access to books and educational materials in very remote areas, as with the One Laptop Per Child XO PCs shown in the picture. I’m working to make Scripture available to them in their own languages.

Last Monday, in a meeting at the University of the Nations, I was struck by the term “viral” electronic Scripture distribution. Of course, as a man who done battle with computer viruses and been tasked with protecting many computers from malware, the term “viral” has many negative connotations. I’ve been trying to think of a better analogy, but the only other one that fits is that of supercritical nuclear reactions, and that isn’t exactly devoid of negative connotations, either. So, I embrace the term “viral” in this instance. I like the idea of creating weapons of mass discipleship and evangelism resulting in a pandemic of repentance, salvation, and righteousness. And, as much as I detest the sort of computer virus that illegally and immorally usurps other people’s computing resources and cause damage, there are a few things that we can learn from them. The main difference is that we seek to spread the Word of God with the permission and consent of the propagating agents, not violate laws where those laws do not contradict God’s Law, and doing good instead of evil with our payload, which is the Holy Bible.

To be effective at viral propagation, Scriptures, like their biological virus and computer virus counterparts must have:

• An initial distribution or creation point (i. e. a web site),
• Adaptation to the hosts that carry them (i. e. formats for different devices and programs),
• Fruitful reproduction (i. e. freely downloadable, permission and ability to easily copy and mirror),
• Effective means of transmission (i. e. various Internet protocols, memory sticks & cards, etc.), and
• Resistance to attempts to control or slow their spread (i. e. legal operation in Christ-friendly countries, diversity of sources and channels, applied computer security technology, design for survivability and tamper resistance, etc.).

Viral electronic Scripture distribution goes beyond conventional publishing, and it goes beyond direct control of the initial publisher over the distribution. The initial publisher can digitally sign releases to provide a tamper-evident seal, and forbid alterations (other than legitimate revisions and adaptations), but intentionally makes no attempt to control or limit redistribution beyond the initial publication. There are well-accepted legal ways to express this desire, in the form of Creative Commons Licenses and similar copyright licenses.

Virally published Scriptures that have been in distribution long enough cannot be effectively censored or eliminated by active persecution, even by major totalitarian governments known for similar activities. There are just too many copies in too many places, and those copies can be easily and quickly copied to other places to fill in where persecutors thought they had eradicated it from.

I’ll mention in passing that for the world’s majority languages, there are several sources of Scriptures in electronic form, mostly in the form of copyrighted, proprietary software, usually with deliberate safeguards against making further copies to protect the worldly intellectual property rights of the Scripture publishers. There are also web sites with permission to serve limited amounts of Scriptures at a time, and no permission to redistribute. There is little risk of a global pandemic of Scripture from these sources, but they do some good in their realm.

If you look diligently for viral Scripture distribution points today, you will find a few good ones. These include the Crosswire Bible Society, eBible.org, PNGScriptures.org, and a few others. There is not yet a single authoritative site to find all of these, and they are being put up by different people. There is a bit of cooperation and communication going on, though. For example, I’m using and adapting Prophero for use in PNG, Vanuatu, Jamaica, and a couple of spots in Africa. Prophero was first put together for a few Indonesian languages plus Hawaiian Pidgin, and I’m using that software, improving it, and sharing it with others. For a longer list of Scriptures on the Internet that also includes nonviral Scripture distribution points, see http://eBible.org/bible/.

Looking to the future, there are Scripture portions in at least 200 languages that could be put on the web in viral forms within the next year, as well as improving the viral nature of what is already there by increasing the number of formats that can be downloaded to fit both the leading edge/affluent platforms and networks and the sorts of things I see in the developing nations (OLPC, second-hand computers, expensive pay-per-megabyte Internet, etc.). Doing all of that in a year is way too much for the current team to pull off by ourselves, but in partnership with YWAM‘s CROWN (Christ Revealed on World Networks) Information Technology ministries based at the University of the Nations, and following God’s leading, it can indeed be done.

I would like to thank those who have been working to provide copyright permissions for many Scriptures. A major roadblock to viral distribution of Scriptures has been knocked out, and soon we will see the Lord show us how to break through the remaining barriers to getting the existing Bible translations published. We will see the ideal of Scriptures being published electronically in many formats, book by book and language by language, as soon as they have been translated and properly checked.

If you have been reading all of our newsletters and emails, you already know a lot of facts about us and our ministry. You also know some things about our family, and about some of our challenges and victories. You know that we are serious about getting the Word of God to people in their own heart language, as well as living the Word of God in the midst of our neighbors, near and far. You already know that we keep using the skills God has blessed us with to support the work of Bible translation and publication.

But what is on our hearts? What does it feel like? There is a fight to faith, but it is good to know we are on the winning side. There is a full range of emotions, rich experiences, profound beauty and joy, and deep darkness and sin to cast out with the light of God’s Word. There is the good, the bad, the ugly, and the beautiful. In all of it, God is glorified.

I was talking about our mixed feelings in moving on to our next assignment with a friend who assured me that it is actually good that way. There is an old German proverb about moving with one eye weeping and one eye laughing. One reflects the sadness of saying “good bye” and leaving a place that has become familiar, and one reflects the joy of going on to the next thing. If we weren’t at least a little sad to go, it would reflect poorly on our experience here. Yet if we were not looking forward to our next assignment, that would not be good, either. Although we know for sure that we are supposed to be here now, and we know just as surely that the Lord wants us to move on to the next assignment, our conviction is not about emotions. It is about being sure of the Lord’s leading, and assurance that the best thing to do is to go where He leads.

There is no place on Earth without challenges, dangers, and perils. Also, there is no place on Earth that is totally devoid of at least a residue of the Glory of God. People tend to fear unknown or exotic danger more than familiar and known danger. Yet God has not called us to fear, but to go and spread His Word. So, we go, because we love Him and earnestly desire to please Him.

So, we look forward to our new work doing things we enjoy, and our new place, which actually is a location we have long wanted to go to. We look forward to the blessing of being where the Lord wants us to be. Yet it would be dishonest to tell you that it is not at least a little bit sad to leave so many friends behind in a place where we know we have been used by God to help so many people to believe in Jesus Christ. We can’t even find a good way to measure the impact, because it keeps rippling through entire language groups and cultures. It isn’t just about the teaching and computer work we do, but about being salt and light where we are. It is about crossing cultural barriers, living in and among other people, and becoming a real influence.

Sometimes it is hard for me to explain some of the ways God has made His love known through us. Just yesterday, I had a conversation with a woman who has been through a lot of pain and suffering, and who was fighting hard in frustration about many things, including the death of her son in tribal warfare. In the conversation we had, I felt like she finally really understood, not just in her head, but in her heart, when I spoke of the love of Jesus, forgiveness and forgiving, and repentance. I could sense the peace in her voice toward the end. I don’t think there is any way she would have been open to what I had to say if we hadn’t spent years interacting with her, repeatedly demonstrating God’s Word to her and not just saying it or handing it to her in written form. No, it took standing with her through trials, comforting her in her loss, and showing the tough, persistent, gentle, consistent love of God in practical ways.

We can’t take much from our temporary home here on to our next place, because of budget constraints and the extreme remoteness of where we live. If it doesn’t fit in a 1.3 cubic meter crate for the whole family, or in one 20-kg. suitcase and a 7-kg. carry-on bag per person, it can’t come with us. This is so much of an improvement in our ability to travel light in this world from when we started moving around for the Lord that it is really funny. The pack rat tendencies that were in me have died. That is OK. It is more than OK. It is wonderful, because we are constantly building up treasure that can’t be burnt, lost, rusted, obsoleted, molded, stolen, worn out, or depleted in a place where there is no crime and where we will live with Jesus forever. We get to bring people with us to Heaven to celebrate life and worship the Lord forever. Sounds like an excellent trade, doesn’t it?

I have celebrated many Christmases, but the one that is most unforgettable for me is the miracle-filled Christmas season of 2005. It started around July, that year, when we found out that we had been matched with a baby girl in an orphanage in Cebu City, Republic of the Philippines. Unfortunately, a paperwork deadlock followed, where agencies in Papua New Guinea and the Philippines were both waiting for the other one to make the next move. And waiting. And waiting. It felt to me like a hostage situation. We earnestly desired to bring our daughter home. I made phone calls, sent emails and faxes, all to no avail.

Then I prayed. The Lord said “Go there.” He also said “Tell people that you will have your daughter by Christmas.” The Inter-Country Adoption Board told me not to come, because they weren’t ready. I said I was coming anyway for other reasons, and went. After personal, face-to-face conversations with the appropriate people in Port Moresby and Manila, the bureaucratic paper jam was cleared, and the process started moving again. There was still some waiting, though, with no natural way of knowing how long. Lori had to go back to PNG to take care of our sons. I stayed there, acted as our own expediter, and kept telling people what the Lord said.

On the last working day before Christmas (a Friday), Rachel was released. I got stuck in a major traffic jam on the way from the store where I picked up baby cereal and formula, so I told the taxi driver that if he would wait for me, I would pay him double the going rate to get me to the airport. I got out of the cab about 3 blocks from the orphanage, signed the paperwork, gave Rachel a fresh change of new clothes, and walked back to the cab, which was now only 1 block away from the orphanage. Yes, traffic was bad, and I had a use-it-or-lose-it ticket on the last plane with any space on it from Cebu City to Manila before Christmas. The taxi driver, being highly motivated, drove with adrenaline and enthusiasm through back alleys and byways, in ways that defy attempts at diplomatic description. I prayed in the back seat, holding Rachel. “Lord, you know that we will probably be late. Please hold that airplane for us.” That airline had a 98% on time record. We arrived late. The taxi driver tore my duffel bag as he pulled it out of the trunk, still pumped with adrenaline. I thanked and paid him as promised, and calmly walked up to the ticket counter and checked in, asking for tape to repair the duffel bag. The flight was delayed, giving us a little time to sit in the waiting area as Rachel drank some milk from a bottle.

So, Rachel and I made it back to a guest house in Manila, which was officially closed for Christmas. We were allowed to stay there anyway, but without meal service. No matter– I had formula and cereal for Rachel. Someone had pity on us, and invited us for Christmas dinner: microwaved frozen McDonald’s hamburgers and an apple.

After another week’s delay, Rachel and I were cleared to leave the Philippines and return to Papua New Guinea, where we celebrated Christmas again, with the whole family. And yes, the meal was more traditional, the second Christmas of 2005, including ice cream and cake. It is, after all, a birthday celebration for Jesus, the Savior.

That was just a small sample of the many miracles involved in making Rachel a permanent part of our family. Praise the Lord!

Which is better: long term missions or short term missions?

Both have their advantages and disadvantages, of course. A long term missionary has time to really learn languages and cultures, to develop relationships, and to effectively work on projects or engage in types of ministry that take significant amounts of time. A short term missionary has opportunities to make a concentrated impact and/or to investigate future short or long term missions. So why would anyone even debate this issue?

Both have their potential disadvantages, too. Long-term missionaries risk creating unhealthy dependencies or burning out. Short-term missionaries risk doing damage because of inadequate understanding of language and culture, or by being more of a drain on mission resources than they are an asset. They are also more easily deceived. Do these disadvantages mean that we should abandon either strategy? Of course not! As with any hazard, we evaluate what we can do to minimize the negatives and maximize the benefits to the Kingdom of God. In all things, we seek the wisdom of the Ancient of Days Himself.

Which is better? Whatever the Lord has called you to do.

I often get scam emails where some criminal tries to deceive me into thinking that if I will get some outrageously large amount of wealth if I just pay some preliminary “fees” to clear the way. Of course, those “fees” have cost many people more than they can afford, and the promised wealth (an inheritance, unclaimed funds, or whatever) never appear.

Reality is better than that. The greatest treasure you can imagine: eternal life, a mansion to live in, food for all eternity, great music, fun things to do, great company with good friends, joy, peace, love, righteousness, and more is available as a free gift from God, and He gives it before you pay anything. It is, in fact, a very costly gift that cost God His Son’s blood and more. Yet, because of His great love for us, He gives it for free to all who believe in Jesus Christ. There is no way we can earn that. Nothing in this world can compare to that gift. We don’t have to pay any fees up front. We don’t have to clean ourselves up, first. We don’t have to do anything to earn this great gift except believe in Jesus Christ in our hearts and call him our Lord with our mouth.

Now, once we have this gift of eternal life, the Lord works on teaching us His ways, teaching us to love like Him, and preparing us for life with Him. He also includes us in His work of Salvation by having us show His love and bring His message to every tribe, language, and nation. Now, this does cost us time, money, and all that we are in this world, but it is a great investment in the future of other people. Yes, salvation is already paid for by the Lord Jesus Christ, but it costs us plenty to bring that Good News to others who live far away and who don’t speak the same language. Yet, even then, the Lord provides the resources we need, including enough money to buy whatever we need for transportation, communication, Bible translation, etc. He usually does so through many different people, because He likes to see us work together to do what He wants to do in the world.

One important part of fulfilling the Great Commission is Bible Translation. See the current statistics from Wycliffe Bible Translators, which show both good progress being made and that there is a long way to go. The Lord has given such riches to us. It seems right to spend what we have in this world to help others believe in Jesus Christ so that they may also join is in living with the Lord forever. After all, we already have much greater wealth.