This past week, we asked a serious question to every person in our church.
Are you living on mission?
If you are a Christian, there are few questions more important than this for you to answer. If you believe that Jesus is the perfect Son of God, who died on the cross bearing all your sin and rose from the dead proving his victory over sin and death, then you have been forever united to Jesus in his life, death, and resurrection. This is what it means to become a Christian.
If that is true, then your mission is inextricably linked to the mission of Jesus Christ. He made clear to us his mission: “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). Jesus came to pursue people who have rebelled against God and to invest in their messy lives as he pointed them to the Father’s love. If you read the Gospel accounts, you find that is what Jesus did every single day. It was his mission. It informed his decisions, his friendships, his conversations.
But, here’s where things get interesting. John records the words of Jesus just before he ascends into heaven: “Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you’” (John 20:21). Just as the Father sent Jesus to seek and rescue people who were far from God, the Father sends us out to seek and bring the message of rescue to people who are far from God.
Christian, this is your mission.
It doesn’t matter where you work, where you live, your relationship status, your financial portfolio, your health, or anything else. We are sent in the same way Jesus was sent. Yes, you are a missionary. Have you embraced your God-given, eternally-significant mission?
Let’s not settle for anything less than God’s best for our lives. Homes and hobbies and jobs and families are all wonderful gifts. But, nothing should distract us from the ultimate goal of our lives – to bring glory to God by making fully devoted followers of Christ.
If this sounds too difficult or too costly, let me remind you that God never calls us to something without graciously equipping us to do it. We cannot accomplish this mission on our own. But, the good news is that he will be with us every step of the way (Matthew 28:20). His peace will sustain us, his power will embolden us, and his presence will encourage us. There may be lots of reasons why we could give up on our mission or just try to coast. But, there’s no such thing as retirement from God’s mission. In fact, the promise of Jesus is that if you want to experience true life, the life you were destined to live, you must trust him enough to lay down your life for him and the gospel (Mark 8:35).
Are you living on mission?
