When you hear the word 'missions' what comes to mind? For those of us who've grown up in the church, the word 'mission' conjures up images in our minds of missionaries from our church who have left their comfortable lives and homes in the States to go serve God in some far off country. For others of us, we associate the word 'missions' with a specific department in the church that focuses on evangelism (usually abroad). While I would agree that evangelism in foreign countries is a good thing, great even, I would also contend that by defining missions solely in this way, we have failed to see that God has called each of us to the mission field.
So what does 'missional living' look like? Simply put, it looks a lot like Jesus. Jesus left the glories of heaven to come to this earth on a rescue mission. In an unparalleled act of humility that defies comprehension, God became a man. {Philippians 2:5-11} And as a man, Jesus showed us what it looks like to be on mission in this world. In Luke's gospel, Jesus summed up His mission with these words, 'For the Son of Man has come to seek and save the lost.' {Luke 19:10} Then, after securing our salvation by dying in our place on the cross and rising from the dead for our salvation He said, 'All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.' {Matthew 28:18-19} The word 'authority' denotes right and might. Jesus is saying, all the right and all the might in the universe are mine. So here's what He's saying, go in My name, by My strength, and for My glory.
In sending out the disciples, He was inviting them (and us) to join Him on this mission. You don't have to cross the Atlantic to be on mission with Christ. For some of us, it might entail that, but for most of us, it means being willing to cross the street and talk to our neighbor about the Lord. To be on mission with Jesus means that we are to join Him in reaching out to the hurting, and lost and broken in love with the gospel. To put it another way, to live out our faith missionally is to see our world through His eyes. As we begin to do this, we'll begin to see the mission field not as a distant land in a far away place, or as a special department in our church, but as an opportunity to join God in calling the lost into the Kingdom.
Daniel
