To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
—Revelation 1:5b-6

This simple song of praise reminds us of our status before God: We are loved. Why is this important? Because it is far too easy to engage in missions—whether praying, supporting, or going—out of guilt or works righteousness, trying to earn God’s love. And when guilt or works-righteousness is the motivation behind our praying, giving, or going to the nations, then these things become a burden, drudgery, something we simply need to get through. We end up either self-righteous and proud or bitter and cynical.

There is another way to engage in this work of missions. It is to begin by reflecting on how much we are loved by Him! To allow his love to fill us, heal us, comfort us, and then and only then motivate us to share his love to others. And so we begin with our status. What is our status before God? We are loved.

This statement about us is true before we give, before we work, before we do anything for Him. It is not dependent upon our obedience, our faithfulness, our good works, or our giving. In theses verses from Revelation, the word “loves” is a present participle which highlights continuing action. We are loved because we belong to Him—always.

And the more we dwell on, accept, and receive His affections, the more passion, joy, and gratitude we have in extending His love to others. It grounds our giving in the grace and freedom we have in Jesus. We do not give out of guilt, or to earn God’s favor, or to feed our idols of pride, or build up our reputation. We give because He loves us and frees us from our sins by his blood.