A mission? I’m much more comfortable without one, thanks.
Missions are dangerous stuff. Secret agent missions involve agents going about their business, putting their lives at risk. Think about all those car chases, near escapes by jumping off cliffs and buildings, bullets flying. And then we have Christian missions…like going to Africa, South America or some other place where we have to miss our daily comforts. No thank you. I’m much more comfortable living my daily life here, perhaps sitting in a pew each Sunday morning, writing the occasional blog entry. After all, the biggest danger I then face is a nasty email or comment. Nothing as serious as a death threat.
And yet, somehow, Christ calls us to participate in a mission. And our TFC church leadership has set forth a vision and mission for our church. And we are called to take up this mission, and to live our lives and be a witness and participate in that vision, so that the vision can be realized.
When Christ gave Paul his mission, Paul received it and embraced it…gave up all he had, all he aspired to, his reputation, his zeal to persecute Christians. And he put it all on the line in his response to the mission given to him.
Paul’s mission was given to him…not something he decided for himself. After his encounter with Christ on a road, he turned around and did the exact opposite of what he had been doing. He had been disobedient, but now he obeyed Christ. He had been persecuting Christians, but now he encouraged them. He had been stopping the gospel from spreading, but now he was its biggest witness. After meeting Christ and receiving his mission, he could have discounted, refused, and resisted it. But instead, Paul received it graciously and obediently. And so should we.
So what’s our unified mission? What’s your personal mission? Where are you being called to participate in for the overall mission of the church? I, for one, am not quite sure. And is it because I fear what this mission might be? Perhaps. Or am I resisting it because I am dreading the second element Paul points out…
Paul points out that our mission is based on unity. In Ephesians 3:6, Paul notes we are all now partakers of this mystery of Christ, revealed to us, and which we should eagerly and graciously accept. We all share in this mystery, regardless of background, ethnicity, origin, social standing. Not only should our mission be received graciously, but it should be responded to in unity. And unity requires a reconciled community.
Many things keep us from being a reconciled community…like broken relationships. We cannot, I cannot, receive our mission and respond to our mission unless we are reconciled to one another. As a matter of fact, the greatest witness to Christ in us when we display love, care, affection and support for one another. This is impossible as long as there are broken relationships and issues between us. And the road to reconciliation includes a conscious effort at being reconciled to one another. By stopping gossip, slander, judgments, dislikes—any distance we have created between ourselves and those around us. We have a natural tendency to create these divisions and, knowingly or unknowingly, we persevere in our judgments. But the ministry of reconciliation does not allow for that.
Reconciliation takes effort. You may even get hurt in the process. I personally know it takes power to overcome these differences and be a true disciple of reconciliation. And I cannot do it on my own strength….the power to reconcile can only be found in Christ. Note how Paul says that we find boldness in Him (Ephesians 3:12). And this boldness requires humility. It requires admitting that I may be wrong. It requires putting others first and myself last. It calls for being a servant, not a master. It calls for taking that dreaded first step and reaching out to the other person.
So, what’s my mission? I don’t honestly know yet. I’m one of those who wrote a big question mark in my bulletin last week. But where can I reconcile? Or help reconcile? Or serve or help or support or be a brother in Christ to those around me? That is an easier question we all should be able to answer. And perhaps by doing so, I will find my larger mission. Or perhaps for now, the call to reconciliation is the only mission God has cared to reveal to me.
What’s yours?
Michael Luyckx
TFC Member
Posted by cbatzing 
