Day Eighteen: How do you know what your mission is?

So, how do we know what our mission is? Listen, obey, listen, obey, listen, obey, and repeat (John 14:15, James 1:22-25).  Seriously, the Christian walk (and living out our callings) is a series of steps of obedience made in faith (Hebrews 11). When they are put together by the Master Builder, they become a tour de force of His glory and love (not anything to do with us!).

I think Paul’s life also shows three other characteristics of missionaries (anyone with a mission) that can guide us in finding our missions. He had a calling, a burden, and a love for that people group or groups who are their mission (Acts 9:15, II Corinthians 12:14-16, Philippians 1:9, Ephesians 1:15-19).

This is important because often in the church today, someone will go on a missions trip and come back with something that might resemble a love for those people they were with; hence, they are convinced they are called to those people. But there is no calling or burden to those people that comes with that love. Most of these people never actually make it back to the mission field because that is not where they are truly called. Now, God definitely can use a short-term mission trip or a mission speaker to call someone to world missions, but a calling and a burden will follow the love.

By a calling I mean God telling you that this is your mission and confirming it. This calling may come through the inner-witness of the spirit, it may come through someone prophetically, or it may come through Scripture. If it is truly God, it will probably come through at least two of the three, if not all three.

By burden, I mean you literally get to share God’s heart for these people. You feel His pain over their lostness or immaturity; they are on your mind, in your heart; you cannot forget them, and you can’t help but pray for them. When Amy Carmichael became aware of girls forced into temple prostitution in India, she had a vision of Jesus kneeling and weeping alone for those girls. She saw herself kneeling beside him and joining him in his weeping. This is a burden. To join God in his heartache over the fate of his lost sheep.

When a person has a love for, calling to, and burden for a person or group or cause, I’d say that’s probably her mission. Everyone’s story looks a little different, but these are guidelines to help pinpoint your mission field.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Christian Response to Church and State

Image
In Matthew 22, a group of Jews asked Jesus if they should pay taxes to Caesar. For the Jews, this was a religious question. There was no separation between religion and government. Until the unwanted rise of Herod the Great, the Jews had been led by the priests--- they were the clergy, the Congress, and--- when uncircumcised Greeks tried to desecrate their Temple-- the generals. Romans also blended religion and government--- Caesar was Lord, Emperor, and God. The Jews thought they had Jesus backed into a corner. If he said to pay taxes, that was blasphemy against Yahweh God who should be the head of the Jewish government. If he said not to, that was blasphemy against the man-God Caesar. Either one was punishable by death. Instead, Jesus rejected the premise that loyalty to a government was a religious requirement. He told them to “give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s” (Mt 22:21). This is one of the first times in western history that someone attempted to separate
Read more

A Christian Response to the Enviornment, Part Two

Image
         Although the Bible is bookended by the creation and rebirth of creation and God’s concern for his world is woven throughout its story, a shocking number of modern Christians see environmentalism to be extra-biblical (something the Bible simply does not seem to care about either way) or anti-biblical (contradicting some biblical text). While many of this reactions come from a blending of environment concern with other liberal concerns rather than dealing with it on its own, there are two other assumptions that must be addressed.           The first assumption is related to the position that this world will be destroyed by fire; therefore, humans need not worry about conserving it. This is a biblical image found in 2 Peter 3 where Peter talks about how the “heavens will pass away with a roar and the earth with be destroyed with fire” (2 Pet. 3:10). However, fire is not simply to destroy. In this passage it is a part of rebirth process that will produce the new heaven and ear
Read more

Day Ten: Everything They Forgot

Image
I know I said we would talk about servant-leadership this week, and we will, but this is any old poem I just rediscovered today, and I thought I would share it and the admonition to keep serving because one day it will be worth it all. Everything They Forgot They told me Christ should be everything and me nothing; They forgot to tell me it hurts to be invisible, They encouraged me to give up anything--- everything, But did not mention that it meant all and then some, They told me God loves a heart that’s kind and humble, But missed the embarrassment and annoyances there too, They forgot to tell me all these things I know they knew. The preached the beauty of fasting alone with God, But didn’t warn me I would get distracted and hungry. They said I should live for heaven’s praise and laud, But forgot my earthly ears can’t hear heaven’s sounds yet. They taught me to fight the good fight valiantly, But never ever said I would get tired there too. They forgot to tell me all th
Read more