02 Oct Missional Living
If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?
We often speak of missions as something we do, go on, or experience. Many a college counselor has read the dreaded my-summer-mission-trip-experience-changed-my-life essay from high school seniors. We have all see children with bloated bellies on TV and many of us feel guilty for not doing more.
What if missions is not something we do, but a part of who we are as believers? What if we viewed missionaries not as an elite group of super Christians, but as the calling of all Christians?
Following Christ means that all areas of our life are subject to His reign, including His command to “go and make disciples.” Very quickly, missions become another item to check off on our proverbial to-do list. Missionaries, like the Super Mom, are a step ahead of the rest of us; somehow able to do, be, and have it all. However, when we think of patience or joy we don’t think of an end, but a continuing progression. Instead of a one-time event, another task to check off, what if we viewed missions as a lens through which we view the world? Our entire life becomes missional as we re-evaluate how we shop for groceries, our work ethic at work, or talk with our neighbor. A trip to Kenya is an overflow from and a catalyst for our lives at home.
Please hear me clearly, I am not arguing against single event mission trips. There is great value from experiencing God’s redemptive work in another culture. Many times, we are able to see our own culture more clearly after a mission trip. One-time mission events are not bad as long as they are tethered to something more sustainable.
When we view missional living as the goal instead of missions as an event, we are free to live missionally in our unique life-stage. A young professional, stay-at-home mom, and retired textile worker can all live missionally in their own spheres of influence. In each instance, a missional Christian is both a part of the world they live in and distinctively different; relatable, yet confounding. Living missionally is a value we uphold and not merely a ministry we do.
Our lives make sense because we are for the good of our city, but we also work for the good of people in Kenya, Nicaragua, Papua New Guinea, Eleuthera and around the world. We naturally love our friends and family well, but we also sacrifice for the poor, orphans, widows, and immigrants. We are natives and foreigners living in a land not our own. We are the poor given riches, the orphan adopted, the widow made a bride, and the immigrant given a home.
We, the Church, are not only Christ’s bride radiating His glory, but we are His representatives indwelt with the Holy Spirit and often the first avenue many people hear, see, and know about God.