Many churches and people spend a lot of energy trying to discern and articulate “their mission.” Yet it’s not our mission we need to concern ourselves with; it’s God’s mission in which we are invited to participate. God’s already out there doing it – what we need to discern is where particularly are we feeling a tug to jump in. So I have learned to say “the mission of God,” and have developed a nice, neat definition of what I think that is, a general definition that makes room for any number of specifics: “The mission of God is to reclaim, restore and renew all of creation to wholeness in Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Why, God may even want to post that on his website!
Yet Jesus defined the work of God far more succinctly. When he told the crowds, “Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you,” they asked the next logical question: “What must we do to perform the works of God?”
Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”
That’s all? Believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Anointed One, “the one on whom God the Father has set his seal?” What about all that other work we think we’re supposed to do? All that feeding and housing and proclaiming and peacemaking? Not to mention the worship planning, vestry meeting, bulletin folding, Facebook posting that occupies our church lives?
It’s a question of sequence. If we do all that stuff without believing that Jesus is who he said he was, we’re just busy. We may do good things, but we’re working out of our own very finite strength and vision. When we put believing first, when we put our whole focus on faith in Jesus as Lord, we come naturally to live out that belief in the places to which the Holy Spirit directs us – some of which may include peacemaking and proclaiming and planning and posting. Jesus told Martha of Bethany straight out, when she complained that her sister was listening to Jesus instead of helping to put lunch on: “Mary has chosen the better part; it will not be taken from her.”
Where is your emphasis as you live out your life as a Christ-follower? It's easy to get sucked into the works and neglect the Work. One way to reorder our priorities is to recommit ourselves to spending some minutes each day seeking Jesus’ presence, allowing ourselves to be filled with his peace and love. Just sit quietly and say, "Come, Lord Jesus." See what develops.
When we know we’re doing the Work, the works flow forth like that mighty stream of Living Water.
That’s all? Believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Anointed One, “the one on whom God the Father has set his seal?” What about all that other work we think we’re supposed to do? All that feeding and housing and proclaiming and peacemaking? Not to mention the worship planning, vestry meeting, bulletin folding, Facebook posting that occupies our church lives?
It’s a question of sequence. If we do all that stuff without believing that Jesus is who he said he was, we’re just busy. We may do good things, but we’re working out of our own very finite strength and vision. When we put believing first, when we put our whole focus on faith in Jesus as Lord, we come naturally to live out that belief in the places to which the Holy Spirit directs us – some of which may include peacemaking and proclaiming and planning and posting. Jesus told Martha of Bethany straight out, when she complained that her sister was listening to Jesus instead of helping to put lunch on: “Mary has chosen the better part; it will not be taken from her.”
Where is your emphasis as you live out your life as a Christ-follower? It's easy to get sucked into the works and neglect the Work. One way to reorder our priorities is to recommit ourselves to spending some minutes each day seeking Jesus’ presence, allowing ourselves to be filled with his peace and love. Just sit quietly and say, "Come, Lord Jesus." See what develops.
When we know we’re doing the Work, the works flow forth like that mighty stream of Living Water.
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