These past few weeks we have been looking at what it means to be and live missional lives. The question behind this blog series is, “What on earth are we here for?” I have so enjoyed the many conversations over this topic, which is a definite passion of mine (not that you can tell). I am truly humbled by your many positive comments and honest feedback through our journey thus far. I cannot stress strongly enough how critical of a topic this is for the Church today if we truly seek to make a Kingdom impact on the next generation. Being missional is core to the biblical account, connecting us to the mandate Jesus gave in Matthew 28:18-20.
But before I get too far ahead of myself, let’s get to work. Being missional means being in tune with the rhythm of our Maker and Redeemer, Jesus Christ, who both empowers and challenges us to live out our faith in the unique setting God has placed us in. The mission field is between our own two feet, reflecting and taking on the character of the soil upon which we have been sent. We are called to be “missional” and “incarnational”. What does this mean? Well, to break this apart, the term “mission” at its heart means “sent”. We all have been placed in a particular place, given a specific job, and are a part of a unique family setting. This is the mission field into which we have been “sent” by God to disciple others in the faith.
On the other hand, “incarnational” is “how” we go, it is the posture of the body in the shape that our service and care toward others takes. Being incarnationally present in the lives of others is just as important as mission. Mission without incarnation is just some guy yelling turn or burn slang. Not very caring. Incarnation without mission ends in deep friendships with potentially no mention of the Gospel. On the extremes, neither approach is completely healthy. It is all about making disciples through the balance of living both missionally and incarnationally among people with the purpose of pointing them toward the life-saving Gospel of Jesus Christ. Living an incarnational life is being Jesus with skin on, sharing His love with those God has placed in our path. This is a lifelong process.
To bring together a lot of the concepts we have been talking about in our recent series check out the following video, a powerful reminder as to what missional living is all about:
The video is challenging isn’t it? Here is the bottom line: which of the following two statements would more accurately describe your church:
“The mission has a church”
OR
“The church has a mission”
How you answer this question is important, because it will shape everything you do when it comes to your faith and life within a particular community of faith.
The stakes have never been as high as they are right now. God has graciously placed within our hands a most precious treasure, more costly than anything the world could ever offer. It is a gift we both experience ourselves and share as we pass it on to someone else. It is a gift that cannot be wrapped, put in a gift bag, or stuck in a box, but rather, it is the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ. This gift, when opened through the Holy Spirit’s power and grace, is a game-changer moment for all humanity, one person at a time.
Let’s keep the dialogue going!
On His mission!
N
You might also like
