I am currently doing the 40 days of purpose devotion by Rick Warren and today’s devotion (Day 36) really hit me. I’ve never laughed and cried and learned something new all during the same devotion. But today I did. It was really intense and just what I needed to read.
All people are called by Jesus in His Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20 “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Not just Pastors and Missionaries, but everyone. Even the 'Average Joe' is called.
We were all made with a ministry to fellow believers as encouragement and support, and with a mission to unbelievers. Jesus had a mission on earth and now as followers of Him, ‘we continue [in His mission] as his spiritual body (the church)’. Christ saves us and then sends us out, which means we are messengers of Christ and of the love of God to redeem all humans from Satan and from eternal separation from God. It is an incredible honor to know God and to be used by Him for His glory. 2 Corinthians 5:20 says, “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.”
‘We [as Christians] have the greatest news in the world, and sharing it is the greatest kindness you can show to anyone.’ I know what Christ has done in my life and it gives me such joy to know that I have been called to share this with everyone so that they too may know of His saving power and love. Jesus is the only one that can save, but my job as one called by the Lord is to bring the communication and God is the one who does the conversion.
Without being called by God, my life doesn’t have meaning. Because of the mission assigned to me by the Lord of the Universe, my life has meaning. My life has purpose. Acts 20:24 says, “However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.”
And we don’t have time to waste! Only the Father knows the day and hour of the Lord’s second coming. So why not get all the people we can to know Christ so when that time does come, the kingdom of heaven will be overflowing! ‘Jesus will not return until everyone God wants to hear the Good News has heard it’. And of course God wants everyone to come join Him for eternity in heaven. Jesus isn’t coming back ‘til all have heard His name. ‘If you want Jesus to come back sooner, focus on fulfilling your mission.’
Our mission can only be fulfilled if we allow God to control our lives. We have to hand Him a blank piece of paper with our signature at the bottom with permission for Him to fill in all of the details. Our agenda and the agenda of the world do not matter. God’s agenda is the only one worth living for. We need to commit to fulfilling our mission in life no matter the cost.
‘If you want to be used by God, you must care about what God cares about; what he cares about most is the redemption of the people he made. He wants his lost children found!’
Father I thank you for the privilege of being a part of your plan for the world. Father I thank you for calling me on the World Race. There is nothing I desire more than to know you, to love you and to serve you more. To help those I encounter come to know you and love you as I do. I want you to use me to bring others into your family for eternity. Help me to reach even more people for Jesus, to be aware and to be on the lookout for those that you place in my path both home and abroad. Help me to be an example for others, so they can see the importance and significance of the mission you have placed in our lives. We all have a part in your mission, in your Great Commission.
