6 years ago, if you had asked me what mission was, I would probably have replied that it was something we sent missionaries out to do, usually in other countries. 6 years is a long time, and I'm thankful for the friends God's blessed me with over that time. Namely, Cat. Thanks hun :) Stumbling into becoming a primary teacher has been an amazing experience, and one I feel very at peace and ultimately increasingly joyful about. When praying for our 'missionaries' from my church news bulletin though, I often felt that that was the norm. Mission's where we send people, right?
My thoughts on mission have changed radically over the last 6 years. My time in university showed me through the Christian Union that mission is a calling by God to share the life-giving gospel of Christ. The biggest revelation was the realisation that I have a mission field! For me, I've found that that mission field is my primary school where I work. That is where I can, purely by the grace of God alone, model Christ to people who don't yet know his renewing beauty, or the amazing grace he offers. Mission is not just a calling some are drawn into, it's a way of life we're called to when we accept Christ as our Abba Father, our Lord and Master, our God and King, our hope for the future. Mission is living out the gospel and its glorious ramifications of God looking on your every second of every day, and seeing the purity of Jesus' righteousness, instead of your sin. Mission is loving the man on the street, your annoying work colleague, your family as much as you love yourself.
Mission is impossible, without Christ. Loving Christ, Mission is beautiful, enticing, eye-catching, it instills a hunger for something far greater than what the world offers. It counts the world as dust and raises a hand to the stranger, holding out the beauty of the grace and infinite love that God offers for the taking. Mission should set hearts burning.
Mission; true gospel-centered, God-glorifying, self-sacrificial, Heaven-focussed mission is so beautiful, that people cannot help but look up and see something different. Joy in your hardest times, tears mixed with unshakeable faith. This is the unshakeable gospel we hold forth! A gospel built upon a rock, a lighthouse standing strong and firm and unmovable amidst the turmoil of the strongest storms. Uncertainty doesn't phase those with it - because its future is assured! The world's opinion doesn't matter to them - because God looks upon them and calls them 'my child'. Their security is never an issue, because the Lord provides all they need. Even when they feel blindfolded, the hand that gives perfectly, keeps giving perfectly to their needs.
Mission loves without want of love in return. Mission gives without thought of thanks. Mission is willing to be nailed up on the cross with Christ, amidst the scorn and mocking of friends, family, peers, colleagues, strangers, because it knows it has something so much greater. And this has to be shared.
Sunlight is a beautiful and fearful sight to a man who has known nothing but darkness his entire life. It intrigues, it scares, it burns & illuminates. In our mission field, wherever it is, we come alongside those in the dark and love them towards the light. Is your hand reached out, ready?
