Your Life Is Your Mission
“Appoint Barnabas and Saul for the special work to which I have called them.”
Acts 13:2
The concept of modern “Missions” began in the book of Acts and originated in the heart of God not man. When most Christians hear the word “Mission” they most often think of a trip that believers take in a plane, or a boat or a 15 passenger van to share Jesus Christ with people far away. Missions in the mind of many conjurers up thoughts of third world countries and people who speak a language other than your own. The truth be told, missions have more to do with our way of life than it does a specific destination that we go. Missions is a lifestyle not an event. When Jesus instructed His disciples to “go into all the world” He meant wherever you “go” in the world go and be a witness to the Lord. Our lives are what testify of what we know and believe about God.
Simply put, our life mission is to know God and to worship Him. The book of Colossians tells us in chapter 1 verses 15-16, “Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see— such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him.” In other words, everything was created by Jesus, and for Jesus. It doesn’t get any clearer than that. You and I belong to God and God created us to know Him and worship Him and when we are doing that we doing exactly what we were created to do.
When we don’t know God and worship Him as God it’s virtually impossible for us to know or understand ourselves. It’s like being handed a very complex piece of equipment you have never seen before and inside is an even more complex operating system with no instructions or owners manual. You and I were fearfully and wonderfully made by God, with an extremely complex operating system that could never be understood without knowing our Creator. Thats why missions exist because the worship of God doesn’t. As Augustine of Hippo famously said, “Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee.”
Jesus said of Himself that He is the way, the truth and the life. That means true life is always found in the presence of God, and its there we come to comprehend our purpose and to know joy. Everything good in life flows from the presence of God even when we aren’t aware of it. Psalm 16:11 puts it this way, “You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.” This is why we continually seek God’s presence as it’s the only place that our soul can find fulfillment. Psalm 27:8 says, “My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me.” And my heart responds, “LORD, I am coming” and in Psalm 42:1-2 we read, “As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God. I thirst for God, the living God. When can I go and stand before him?”
Like the woman at the well who came every day to get water to survive, Jesus comes to her and offers her living water. Thats the purpose of missions. We who know God and are being satisfied by His presence go about looking for those who are not satisfied and are dying of thirst or who are drinking from the polluted wells the world has dug. Oh how satisfying it is to be able to offer people Jesus Christ and watch as many come to Him and drink deep of living water for the very first time. Your life mission is the same as mine. To know Jesus and make Him known, and not because we have a sense of obligation but rather because like Jesus our hearts are moved with compassion for a world that is dying of thirst and hunger. Oh the joy of being a beggar who has found the bakery offering free bread and then telling other beggars where they too can find food and drink!
“Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink— even if you have no money! Come, take your choice of wine or milk—it’s all free! Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength? Why pay for food that does you no good? Listen to me, and you will eat what is good. You will enjoy the finest food.”
Isaiah 55:1–2
I LOVE YOU!
Acts 13:2
The concept of modern “Missions” began in the book of Acts and originated in the heart of God not man. When most Christians hear the word “Mission” they most often think of a trip that believers take in a plane, or a boat or a 15 passenger van to share Jesus Christ with people far away. Missions in the mind of many conjurers up thoughts of third world countries and people who speak a language other than your own. The truth be told, missions have more to do with our way of life than it does a specific destination that we go. Missions is a lifestyle not an event. When Jesus instructed His disciples to “go into all the world” He meant wherever you “go” in the world go and be a witness to the Lord. Our lives are what testify of what we know and believe about God.
Simply put, our life mission is to know God and to worship Him. The book of Colossians tells us in chapter 1 verses 15-16, “Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see— such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him.” In other words, everything was created by Jesus, and for Jesus. It doesn’t get any clearer than that. You and I belong to God and God created us to know Him and worship Him and when we are doing that we doing exactly what we were created to do.
When we don’t know God and worship Him as God it’s virtually impossible for us to know or understand ourselves. It’s like being handed a very complex piece of equipment you have never seen before and inside is an even more complex operating system with no instructions or owners manual. You and I were fearfully and wonderfully made by God, with an extremely complex operating system that could never be understood without knowing our Creator. Thats why missions exist because the worship of God doesn’t. As Augustine of Hippo famously said, “Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee.”
Jesus said of Himself that He is the way, the truth and the life. That means true life is always found in the presence of God, and its there we come to comprehend our purpose and to know joy. Everything good in life flows from the presence of God even when we aren’t aware of it. Psalm 16:11 puts it this way, “You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.” This is why we continually seek God’s presence as it’s the only place that our soul can find fulfillment. Psalm 27:8 says, “My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me.” And my heart responds, “LORD, I am coming” and in Psalm 42:1-2 we read, “As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God. I thirst for God, the living God. When can I go and stand before him?”
Like the woman at the well who came every day to get water to survive, Jesus comes to her and offers her living water. Thats the purpose of missions. We who know God and are being satisfied by His presence go about looking for those who are not satisfied and are dying of thirst or who are drinking from the polluted wells the world has dug. Oh how satisfying it is to be able to offer people Jesus Christ and watch as many come to Him and drink deep of living water for the very first time. Your life mission is the same as mine. To know Jesus and make Him known, and not because we have a sense of obligation but rather because like Jesus our hearts are moved with compassion for a world that is dying of thirst and hunger. Oh the joy of being a beggar who has found the bakery offering free bread and then telling other beggars where they too can find food and drink!
“Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink— even if you have no money! Come, take your choice of wine or milk—it’s all free! Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength? Why pay for food that does you no good? Listen to me, and you will eat what is good. You will enjoy the finest food.”
Isaiah 55:1–2
I LOVE YOU!
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