As a kid, I used to love hearing from the missionaries that our church sent out. In my mind, it combined Indiana Jones with the Bible – and that was a great union. Stories of taking the message of Jesus to remote places in the jungle. Testimonies of seeing people groups respond to Jesus for the first time. Chronicling of translating the scriptures into different languages. It all seemed so exotic and almost otherworldly.
Those stories were inspiring, but they were also paralyzing. Those stories somehow drove home the erroneous point, at least in my heart, that mission was something that only a select group of Jesus followers do. The rest of the church is charged with sending people out on a mission, but they aren’t called to live it out themselves. In speaking about missions, one famous pastor said, “you are either called to go or to send.” I understand his point. He’s talking about global missions, but I think that rhetoric subtly drives home the same idea I had as a kid. Some people are “sent,” and others are not. However, that’s not the way Jesus described our calling as a church.
When Jesus commissioned his disciples, he said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” (John 20:21) Nearly all scholars agree that this commissioning wasn’t just for the original disciples, but for every disciple. To be a Jesus follower is to be sent. The question is not whether you’re sent, the question is where you are sent. Jesus is sending his church as light into darkness, to bring healing to sickness, as peacemakers into warzones, to infuse love into hate, and as good into evil. Like arrows, he is pulling us in that he might launch us out in peace and power and purpose in his name. God is on a mission and his church is his method.
I think it’s easy to get caught up in wondering where Jesus is sending us. That question often paralyzes us and prevents us from living as a sent person. What if you assumed that Jesus simply wanted you to live sent right where you are? How might you interact with your family, your neighbors, or your coworkers differently if you assumed you were sent to live in the way of Jesus with the heart of Jesus right now?
Spend some time today praying that God would open your eyes to see the mission field that you’re planted in, then ask him to give you the boldness to step into it with his Spirit and power. You are sent by the King of Kings!
Pastor Ryan Paulson
Lead Pastor