The Purpose Driven Life(84)
The mission Jesus had while on earth is now our mission because we are the Body of Christ. What he did in his physical body we are to continue as his spiritual body, the church. What is that mission? Introducing people to God! The Bible says, “Christ changed us from enemies into his friends and gave us the task of making others his friends also.”5
God wants to redeem human beings from Satan and reconcile them to himself so we can fulfill the five purposes he created us for: to love him, to be a part of his family, to become like him, to serve him, and to tell others about him. Once we are his, God uses us to reach others. He saves us and then sends us out. The Bible says, “We have been sent to speak for Christ.”6 We are the messengers of God’s love and purposes to the world.
THE IMPORTANCE OF YOUR MISSION
Fulfilling your life mission on earth is an essential part of living for God’s glory. The Bible gives several reasons why your mission is so important.
DAY THIRTY-SIX: MADE FOR A MISSION
Your mission is a continuation of Jesus’ mission on earth. As his followers, we are to continue what Jesus started. Jesus calls us not only to come to him, but to go for him. Your mission is so significant that Jesus repeated it five times, in five different ways, in five different books of the Bible.7 It is as if he was saying, “I really want you to get this!” Study these five commissions of Jesus and you will learn the details of your mission on earth—the when, where, why, and how.
In the Great Commission Jesus said, “Go to the people of all nations and make them my disciples. Baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to do everything I have told you.”8 This commission was given to every follower of Jesus, not to pastors and missionaries alone. This is your commission from Jesus, and it is not optional. These words of Jesus are not the Great Suggestion. If you are a part of God’s family, your mission is mandatory. To ignore it would be disobedience.
Jesus calls us not only to come to him, but to go for him.
You may have been unaware that God holds you responsible for the unbelievers who live around you. The Bible says, “You must warn them so they may live. If you don’t speak out to warn the wicked to stop their evil ways, they will die in their sin. But I will hold you responsible for their death.”9 You are the only Christian some people will ever know, and your mission is to share Jesus with them.
Your mission is a wonderful privilege. Although it is a big responsibility, it is also an incredible honor to be used by God. Paul said, “God has given us the privilege of urging everyone to come into his favor and be reconciled to him.”10 Your mission involves two great privileges: working with God and representing him. We get to partner with God in the building of his kingdom. Paul calls us “co-laborers” and says, “We are workers together with God.”11
Jesus has secured our salvation, put us in his family, given us his Spirit, and then made us his agents in the world. What a privilege! The Bible says, “We’re Christ’s representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God’s work of making things right between them. We’re speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God.”12
Telling others how they can have eternal life is the greatest thing you can do for them. If your neighbor had cancer or AIDS and you knew the cure, it would be criminal to withhold that lifesaving information. Even worse is to keep secret the way to forgiveness, purpose, peace, and eternal life. We have the greatest news in the world, and sharing it is the greatest kindness you can show to anyone.
One problem long-term Christians have is that they forget how hopeless it felt to be without Christ. We must remember that no matter how contented or successful people appear to be, without Christ they are hopelessly lost and headed for eternal separation from God. The Bible says, “Jesus is the only One who can save people.”13 Everybody needs Jesus.
The Great Commission was given to every follower of Jesus.
Your mission has eternal significance. It will impact the eternal destiny of other people, so it’s more important than any job, achievement, or goal you will reach during your life on earth. The consequences of your mission will last forever; the consequences of your job will not. Nothing else you do will ever matter as much as helping people establish an eternal relationship with God.
This is why we must be urgent about our mission. Jesus said, “All of us must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent me, because there is little time left before the night falls and all work comes to an end.”14 The clock is ticking down on your life mission, so don’t delay another day. Get started on your mission of reaching out to others now! We will have all of eternity to celebrate with those we have brought to Jesus, but we only have our lifetime in which to reach them.