“As the Father has sent me, even so, I am sending you.” – John 20:21
Jesus was sent by the Father “to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10), but Jesus decided not to stick around (at least in a physical sense) to see this mission completed. Instead, in his infinite wisdom, he has decided to work through people like you and me to accomplish what the Father sent him to do. Here in John 20, at the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry, he tells his followers (us!) that they/we are being sent “even so.” This means that those of us who claim the name of Jesus has a mission… Jesus’ mission! To seek and save the “lost.” Those who don’t know, who don’t act like us, who don’t behave like us, who don’t have the same convictions, who might look differently, who vote differently, who speak differently . . . these are the people that we are called to. Now, God didn’t ask me if that was a good idea, but if he had, I would have told him that there is no way that he should trust us with such an important task. I would have told him about our pathetic history of mistreating, demeaning, belittling, enslaving, and even killing our fellow humans. Of course, he would have reassured me that he knew all that, but that he still believed in us. This might sound baffling, but it is true. He believes in us. But, I think it is important to point out that God doesn’t believe in “me” the same way that he believes in “us.” I don’t think that God believes that I have much hope if I am alone and on my own as an isolated individual. He loves me that way and he loves you that way, but he doesn’t expect much of either of us when we are alone. If you remember, a solitary human was the one part of creation that God said was “not good.”
What I’m suggesting is that the God of the universe believes in “us.” He believes that we can actually come together and do something together, with His Spirit, that we could never do alone. Jesus believes that we can accomplish, even in some small way, a part of what he began. This is awesome! So, my challenge to you today is to join in! In fact, join a team of people serving together. Find some other followers of Jesus who are already on a mission doing something together and join them. When you do, you’ll be surprised by how great it is. Have you ever wanted to get connected to others more? The best way to do that is actually to be a part of a team of people on a mission together. Do you want to learn more about Jesus? The best way to do that is to join a team of people who are on a mission together telling others about Jesus. So, join one of our Faith Kids teams, our Jr. High team, or our High School team, or link arms with our Outreach team, or join one of our many partners in North County. Contact any of us Pastors or Directors and we’d love to help you become a part of finishing what Jesus started.
Josh Rose
Teaching Pastor