The Basis for Doing Missions
As a missionary in Milan, Italy, it is not difficult to feel discouraged at times. Beyond the ordinary challenges of adjusting to a new country, language, and culture, it is easy to feel overwhelmed by the sheer size of a sprawling city with almost no gospel witness. It is a spiritually dark and godless place. Aside from our mission work, there is only one other Presbyterian congregation in metropolitan area of 8.2 million people, hardly enough to serve the population. Moreover, our church building, a tiny converted computer store on the outskirts of the city, cannot complete aesthetically with the breathtaking architecture of the empty cathedrals like the Duomo (pictured above) which sits in the city center, attracting tourists and visitors throughout the year, yet offering them no good news. In such a place, how can a missionary stay encouraged?
Fight the Good Fight, Finish Your Race, Keep the Faith
Deep in the crypt of Basilica Sant’Ambrogio, one of the most ancient churches in northern Italy, lay the body of a man who served Christ’s church faithfully during the fourth century. Ambrose of Milan (340-397) was a preacher of the Word, hymn writer, church-planter, defender of orthodoxy, mentor to Augustine, and one of the four “doctors” of the early church. His legacy as a servant of Christ’s church stands as a testimony to one who, by God’s grace, fought the good fight, finished the race, and kept the faith. By no means was he perfect, but, like the apostle Paul some three hundred years earlier, he ran hard and finished well.
Competent Workmen for the Gospel
Within the walls of the Sforza Castle in Milan, Italy stands an unfinished marble sculpture by the great Michelangelo Bounarroti, a competent workman reknowned for rightly handling marble. In similar fashion, the minister of the Word is called to be a competent workman for the gospel, rightly handling the word of truth. This is the imagery Paul uses in his exhortation to Timothy in 2:14-19.
Quality Control: Preserving the Gospel for the Next Generation
Italy’s devotion to quality control of its wine illustrates Paul’s concern to preserve the purity of the gospel message and ensure that it be brought to future generations.
A Light from the Shadows
It has been almost five centuries since The Benefit of Christ was published. The Lord once used this little book to help people understand the gospel, helping it spread it across Europe. What will he use today? May we return to the message of The Benefit of Christ and proclaim that message once again in Italy and throughout the world.