Your Mission…Should You Choose to Accept It

By David VanEpps

Missions come with a sense of urgency, seemingly insurmountable odds, very high degree of importance, and an overwhelming inspiration to succeed.  Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.  The US Army’s mission is to deploy, fight, and win our Nation’s wars.  In the movie Mission Impossible, Ethan Hunt’s mission was to sneak into a heavily guarded CIA building to retrieve a confidential computer file to prove his innocence.  Urgent, challenging, important, inspiring. What’s your mission?

Mission Statements

Many of us work in Corporate America where our companies set forth visions, mission statements, and objectives.  Do they give you a sense of urgency?  Do they seem challenging?  Do you find the outcome to be critically important?  Are you inspired?

What about your personal mission?  What’s your purpose in life?  Do you feel a strong sense of purpose and direction?  Do you have a compelling mission that motivates and excites you each and every day?  

Tim Tebow has the following mission for his foundation, “To bring Faith, Hope and Love to those needing a brighter day in their darkest hour of need.”  The website for his book, Mission Possible, says, “Statistically speaking, those with a stronger sense of mission and purpose live longer, richer, happier lives—regardless of their particular circumstances.” 

Commandments, Salvation, and Commissions

God has a very clear mission for us.  Sometimes this mission gets confused with things like commandments and salvation.  Sure, God commands us to obey the Ten Commandments, but that’s not our mission. We’re told to pray and be thankful, but that’s not our mission. We’re told that if we believe in Jesus, we receive eternal life, which is great news but isn’t our mission.  It can get confusing, but here are a few clarifications that may help.

• Commandment – something that must be obeyed.  God issues many commandments throughout the Bible.  Perhaps the greatest example is the Ten Commandments that God revealed to Moses on Mount Sinai.  These can be found in the books of Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5.  Again, these are commandments, not a mission.
• Salvation – how one receives eternal life. In John 3:16, it says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”  This doctrine for salvation says that faith in Jesus produces eternal life, but it’s not necessarily a mission.
• Commission – an official charge or authority to accomplish something. Matthew 28:19 says, “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.”  A disciple is one who follows Jesus, so this verse is tasking you to make followers of Jesus.  This verse is also called the Great Commission, and yes, the word mission is embedded within the word Commission.

Despite the importance of all three categories, the mission is clear and is laid out in the Great Commission – to make disciples.

Your Mission from God

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to make disciples.  Let your words and actions show others that Jesus is Lord.  Tell others about Jesus, whether through words or actions.  Let others see the love of Christ at work in you and in how you live your life.  

Is this an urgent mission?  Absolutely – we only have so much time on earth to do God’s work.

Is this a challenging mission?  Definitely – many people have never heard the good news, and even more have rejected this good news, often more than once.

Is this an important mission?  I believe it’s a mission worth your life.

Is this an inspiring mission?  It’s up to you, should you to choose to accept it.

Photo Credit: David Iskander