You know that word association game where you have to say the first thing that comes to mind when you hear a certain word? Well, if that word were “mission”, the first thing that used to come to my mind is…“blech”. (Ha, you thought I was going to say “impossible”, didn’tcha)
My gut reaction on being part of a task group looking at the concept of “mission” was a quiet inner laugh at God’s sense of humour. Who says he doesn’t do irony? During the zealous honeymoon phase of my freshly-minted faith, I may have had a technicolour dream or two of being a missionary in faraway lands, armed merely with the Bible and pre-requisite vaccinations, melting hearts of stone as they embraced the message of Christ.
I should quickly point out that back then, my definition of being a missionary mainly consisted of being an evangelist, ie seeking to convert people by preaching the word of God. However, it quickly became apparent that I didn’t have the gift of evangelism, nor even any real inclination for it. Rather, what had motivated me was the notion that evangelism was a prerequisite of, as well as measure of, Christian faith and so something I should strive to achieve.
As it happens, a few years after striving for this goal and continually falling short (translation: no converts to my name), I ended up not only abandoning any dreams of being a missionary, but even ended up leaving my church in a crisis of faith and identity.
Was I really even a Christian if I couldn’t “successfully” share my faith?
Nowadays, I have a very different understanding of mission, thanks in large part to a very different understanding of sharing my faith. It’s not just about “sharing the gospel”, it’s about sharing my life. It’s about deliberately letting my life be a conduit for God’s goodness to come into all the situations I find myself in.
In a fight between two friends, it’s about mediating instead of taking sides, calming waters as opposed to stirring them up more. In a family dispute, it’s about leading with humility and generosity instead of rights and entitlements. Oftentimes, it’s about going against the common wisdom of the day (often based on fear/cynicism/greed), and being a witness to the good that exists in the world and the good within, and assigning that good to God, for James 1:17 says, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”
In his prayer for the disciples at the last supper, Jesus himself says:
“Righteous Father, the world has never known you, but I have known you, and these disciples know that you sent me on this mission. I have made your very being known to them – who you are and what you do – and continue to make it known, so that your love for me might be in them exactly as I am in them.” John 17:25-26 (MSG)
Verse 26 in The Living Bible says it this way:
“And I have revealed you to them and will keep on revealing you so that the mighty love you have for me may be in them, and I in them.”
So Jesus’ mission was to reveal the very being of God – God’s nature and God’s actions – so that the mighty love of God as expressed most perfectly by God’s love for his son, Jesus himself, might dwell in humanity.
And Jesus fulfilled this mission through his own actions and nature, as well as his words. He expressed God’s love by loving. He revealed God’s humility by being humble. In fact, Jesus’ introductory act at the last supper was to wash his disciples’ feet.
And then, in John 20, after his resurrection and reappearance to the disciples, Jesus gives a mission to his disciples:
“The disciples, seeing the Master with their own eyes, were awestruck. Jesus repeated his greeting: ‘Peace to you. Just as the Father sent me, I send you.’” John 20:20-21 (MSG)
However, unlike the more widely known “Great Commission” in Matthew 28, this seems a rather vague instruction. What exactly does that mean? How did God send Jesus?
To explain this, an article from The Lausanne Movement points to the first chapter of John, where the sending of Jesus is described.* In particular, they look at John 1:14 (ESV), “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…”, highlighting the word “dwelt”.
Eskēnōsen – the term John used (and in fact coined) for “dwelt”, referred to skenos, or tent, bringing forth the vision of the tabernacle in the Old Testament – God’s dwelling place amongst the Israelites. So Jesus “tabernacled” – dwelled – with humanity.
This is how Jesus was sent by God – he was commissioned to live among the people. Grow with them. Learn with them. Work with them. Eat, sleep and laugh with them. And, eventually, teach them. In doing all this, reflect who God is and how He loves.
This is the mission Jesus gives his disciples…and one I have accepted.
*(https://lausanne.org/report/the-great-commission-a-theological-basis)
Theme photo by David Iskander on Unsplash