Do you ever wonder what your mission in life is? Do you believe it is to work, pay bills, get married, have children, and look forward to grandchildren? Have you thought that is only a piece of your mission? Where does your mission come from? Ever wondered about that?
We all need purpose in our life. We need something that drives us. Far too often we search for it for our entire lives. However, some of us find our purpose earlier in life. Some find it somewhere in between. Ultimately, our mission comes from Jesus.
In Luke 4, Jesus goes into the synagogue, is given the scroll of Isaiah, unrolls it to what we call Isaiah 61 and reads the first couple verses. He then declares the prophecy is fulfilled in the presence of those there. But Jesus doesn’t end there. He goes on to speak of Elijah helping a widow and her son during a famine (1 King 17) and Elisha helping an enemy army general (2 Kings 4).
What does it mean? It means God has been sending prophets to gentiles for thousands of years and continues today. It also means God has been reaching out to the outcasts, the marginalized, those being oppressed, and the brokenhearted from the beginning of time. Jesus says this is His mission. When He gave the apostles the Great Commission, He gave them this mission as well.
Our mission is the continuation of Jesus’ mission and the apostle’s mission. We are to continue to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, give sight to the blind, heal the wounded, and welcome everyone who wants to come into the kingdom of God. We are not to just take the message of Jesus to those we like but to everyone. We are not to pick and choose. Jesus paid too high a price for us to do that.
I pray we all understand our mission. I pray we take up our mission with the same vigor as Jesus and the apostles. I pray each one of us know we cannot pick and choose who comes to Jesus. Know your mission. Take up your mission. Do not pick and choose. Jesus paid the price for everyone.
Isaiah 61:1-2a
The spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed,
to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and release to the prisoners;
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor,
Marty Pressey 