It is refreshing to know what the mission is.
It won't be expressed in the exact same way in all locations at all times. It will necessarily be presented in a different as determined by the context. There will, however, be key similarities in the expression. It will revolve around demonstrating and declaring God through His Son, Jesus Christ. It will involve at its heart the wondrous work of the Holy Spirit in turning lives from the kingdom of darkness to the wonderful kingdom of Light.
How those elements work themselves out, however, will vary. The clarity, though, in understanding the mission and then being able to give that message to the key recipients is such a beautiful and beneficial quality.
Millennia before the incarnation, Moses and Aaron were able to bring God's people together and let them know that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had heard them and was on the job of delivering them from their condition. They knew the assignment. They were able to convey the mission as the message. It had the effect of getting a people oppressed for so long to respond with hope and praise. Of course that response would subsequently be tempered significantly by the negative reaction of Pharoah. Yet in the effective expression of the mission, the message caused there to be reason for rejoicing.
When I had the privilege of operating in a few missions, it was electrifying to see the effect the message of the mission had on those who were clearly designed to be the recipients. Letting them know that they could encounter someone who knew them and was not rejecting and abandoning them, but rather inviting them into a life-transforming encounter had a powerful impact on listeners. Cultivating conversations so there was an exchange of understanding their plight and position in life and giving them a chance to hear what God was doing in their situation had a revitalising effect on people looking for hope.
There were certainly occasions where the joy was short-lived. There were those occasions where the excitement of receiving the good news would be drowned out by the cares of this world and what indeed appeared to be a pursuit for something else other than what Jesus offered. For all of those responses, there were still those who heard and truly chose to be committed to the mission. The embraced what it was to be captured by the Beautiful Saviour, offering themselves to undergo the lifelong journey from the old to the new. Not just that, though, the realisation that now that you were a member of the family that in turn made you a minister serving others as Christ equipped you and also gave you a message to share with others. A message that declared what the mission was all about to invite people to this wonderful Kingdom ruled by a wonderful King filled with the wonderful riches of the Saviour.
This is why it's reassuring to have clarity on what the mission is in that specific context and how it's expressed both in word and in deed.
For His Name's Sake
C. L. J. Dryden
Shalom
