TIMOTHY
BERREY
BY
Making disciples of every nation is risky business,
and Jesus knew that it would be. I remember feeling
the stark reality of missionary risk in 2003, when
in the midst of preparations to take my family to
Cambodia for the summer, I learned that SARS was
lethally spreading its tentacles throughout Asia.
When our Lord addressed risk, however, His focus
was not on potential illnesses. As Jesus sent His
twelve disciples on a mission, He sent them as “sheep
in the midst of wolves” (Matthew 10:16).1 The greatest
part of His instructions focused on preparing them
for persecution.
How might these same principles help us in our day?
1. Be wise as serpents and harmless as
doves (Matthew 10:16).
To be wise suggests being shrewd, insightful, careful,
and discerning; to be harmless means to be pure or
innocent. As sheep in the midst of wolves, we must
be savvy but not sinful.
My wife and I once met some missionary translators
who lived in a dangerous part of the Philippines.
Navigating their lives wisely meant they varied their
schedules and routes when running errands. But
every Sunday they went to church deliberately, fully
aware their church and service times were publicly
known. They were savvy but not sinful.
2. Lean on the Holy Spirit to guide you
(Matthew 10:20).
As the Lord prepared His disciples to be sheep in
the midst of wolves, He specifically warned them
to beware of men (see Matthew 10:17) who would
deliver them up out of hostility to the Gospel. In
those times, they were not to worry about what to
say but rely on the Spirit to help them.
My family spent the summer of 2004 ministering
in a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa. Johan-
nesburg was reportedly one of the most dangerous
cities in the world because of rampant crime, car
theft, and murder. One of the missionaries told us
that while helping with the injured at a car accident
scene, she was accosted by a man with a gun
who demanded her car keys. Without thinking,
she turned to him and replied furiously,
“Can’t you see this is not the time for
that? People have been injured!” To
her surprise, the man slunk away
into the crowd. In the midst of
danger, the Lord had provided
on-the-spot wisdom: “It is not
you who speak, but the Spirit of
your Father who speaks in you”
(Matthew 10:20).
SHEEP IN THE
MIDST OF WOLVES