God Is a Missionary God | Inspiring Missions Quote 3

TL;DR:
Eddy Ho argues that world evangelism reflects God’s own character. Since God is a missionary God, His people must likewise be a missionary people. Ho’s message is that to be Christlike is to be missionary. Emulating God’s love, holiness, and passion for the lost restores the divine image marred by sin and fulfills our purpose as His representatives. Echoing Henry Martyn, Ho insists that the nearer we get to Christ, the more intensely missionary we become. Therefore, evangelism isn’t just obedience to a command—it’s participation in God’s own heart and nature.

A Slogan to Awaken the Church

World evangelism reflects the character of God, who invites us to join Him in seeking lost people.
Since we were created in God’s image, shouldn’t emulating God’s love, holiness, and missionary heart be the desire of every believer?
As we become more like God, we will become a missionary people who reflect our Creator, Redeemer, and Lord. That means we will be intensely focused on world missions.

A Saying About World Evangelism to Stir Our Hearts and Move Us to Action

Are we reflecting God?

More Mini-Essays on Stirring Sayings About Great Commission Fulfillment

“Since God is a missionary God, God’s people are a missionary people.”
— Eddy Ho, evangelical leader from Malaysia

For Eddy Ho, the reason for evangelizing the whole world is compelling: World evangelism reflects the character of God. In other words, God does not sit in heaven merely issuing orders for us to seek the lost. Instead, He beckons us to join Him in a worldwide search for lost people.

God goes to great lengths to cross barriers and overcome obstacles to confront sinful people and offer them His grace. Because God tirelessly seeks us, English author Francis Thompson used a hunting-dog metaphor in “The Hound of Heaven,” his epic 182-line poem about God. Eddy Ho says that if this is what God is like, then His people should reflect that same missionary passion.

Being Christlike should be the heart’s desire of every believer. Indeed, more than a century ago, believers began singing Thomas Chisholm’s song “O! To Be Like Thee.” Emulating God’s love, holiness, and missionary heart is consistent with the declaration in Genesis 1:27 that we were created in God’s image.

Sadly, sin marred and distorted that image. The good news is that God wants to transform us to be more like Him. In Eddy Ho’s opinion, being like God means that we will be a missionary people.

Ho’s exhortation that we become a missionary people who reflect our Creator, Redeemer, and Lord evokes what British missionary Henry Martyn wrote: “The Spirit of Christ is the spirit of missions. The nearer we get to Him, the more intensely missionary we become.”

Reflection Questions

According to Eddy Ho, what is the primary reason believers and their churches should be involved in world evangelism? How does such involvement reflect the character of God?
How does Francis Thompson’s metaphor of God as a hunting dog in “The Hound of Heaven” support Ho’s argument about the nature of God and our role in evangelism?
In what ways does emulating God’s love, holiness, and missionary heart make us more like Him? What implications might this have for every Christ-follower?
How does Henry Martyn’s quotation about the Spirit of Christ and missions relate to Ho’s exhortation that we become a missionary people who reflect our Redeemer and Lord?

— Howard Culbertson, hculbert@snu.edu

More mini-essays in the “Slogans to Awaken the Church” series published in Engage magazine

Afterword: Reflecting or Imitating God

Eddy Ho’s powerful sentence reminds us that God’s missionary character provides a compelling reason for believers to participate in world evangelism. Emulating God’s love, holiness, and missionary heart should be the heartfelt desire of every Christ-follower. God, as portrayed by Francis Thompson’s metaphor of a hunting dog in “The Hound of Heaven,” goes to great lengths to seek the lost. So should we. Henry Martyn’s words about the Spirit of Christ and missions remind us that as we get closer to Christ, we will likely become ardently world-mission-minded.

The logic underlying Eddy Ho’s statement is this: God is actively working to redeem lost people. His people—whom Paul calls His “ambassadors”—should participate in sharing the Good News worldwide.

Several biblical themes support Ho’s slogan. Four of them are:

God is proactively involved in the world and in human affairs as He seeks to reconcile people to Himself.
In Christian theology, there is a concept known as imitatio Dei, which means “imitation of God.” This concept indicates that human beings are called to reflect God's character and actions. If God is a missionary God, then His people must reflect His global missionary passion.
The Church is described as the “Body of Christ” (1 Corinthians 12:27). This imagery suggests that the Church is to continue the work of Jesus in the world. Since Jesus engaged in a mission to proclaim the kingdom of God and offer salvation, the Church, as the Body of Christ, must participate in this mission.
The Bible declares that God desires the salvation of all people, regardless of their background or circumstances. Because God offers salvation to all people, it is the duty of God’s people to share this message with everyone everywhere.

Who Is Eddy Ho?

Eddy Ho, a former dean at Malaysia Bible Seminary, is known in Christian missions circles as a passionate advocate for world evangelism. He also served on the governing council of the Malaysia National Evangelical Christian Fellowship (NECF).