the mission:day 6

[Review this week's verses. What steps need to be taken in order to align your mission with the mission of our Rabbi, Jesus?]

I have to evaluate who or what I am really following and how closely I am following. Is my mission really to be like Jesus? Am I developing my own patterns for life or am I following Jesus’ pattern? Am I more focused on myself than anything or anyone else? Do I notice the needs of others around me? How do I react when I do? Am I more interested in serving or being served? Do I really believe that living Jesus’ mission is the mission that leads to the best life possible?

I have some thinking to do. Decisions to make. I’m glad that it’s a process.

the mission:day 5

[Read & meditate on Matthew 28.18-20. What would it take to live out the mission that Jesus called us to? Are you living it?]

I can’t make disciples of Jesus if I’m not living as one. I can’t immerse people into God’s reality–Jesus’ way of life, if I am not immersed into it. I can’t successfully teach anyone to live what I am not living. Scary question–when I look at those that are following me, what can I learn about where I am at in my discipleship?
You get the sense of intentionality. Disciples are developed on purpose. I need to be purposeful in leading others. I can’t do this on my own. This is why I am so encouraged to know that Jesus is with me. If I continue to be with him, I will continue to become more like him–that helps.

Am I living as a disciple of Jesus?
Whether I am aware of it or not, I am making disciples. What am I making them disciples of?
How can I re-orient myself to be more with Jesus?

the mission:day 4

[Read & meditate on John 10.10. What do you think Jesus meant? Are you experiencing that life?]

To Jesus’ audience, their perspective of eternal life was a little different from our own. To them eternal life was more than a quantity of time, rather it was an eternal quality of life. A life of infinite significance, a life with depth and value–a life that had a real impact. Life the way it was meant to be. This is the kind of life Jesus says he came to give us, not just a life that never ends, but a life that is full of significance–right now. It is a sense of not merely surviving or just striving for the status quo, but a life that thrives, that is able to absorb and contribute to every moment. A life that leaves a beautiful fingerprint wherever it goes. A life that experiences renewed and restored relationship with God and the people around it. A life that is able to not merely enjoy the creation around it, but to add to it.
Boy, I have moments of this kind of life, but I want so much more. To live in relationships without shame or regret. To enhance the world I live in. To continually be refreshed and renewed. To be able to enjoy every moment, good or bad, because I can be fully present in that moment, with those people. God help me! I want what Jesus offers!

Have I become satisfied with the status quo or do I want more?
Where am I trying to find life?
Is it working?

the mission:day 3

[Read & meditate on Mark 10.45. What did Jesus come for? What would the people in your life say that you came for?]

Jesus came to serve. He came to give himself up as a ransom–a price paid to rescue us from our imprisonment and to return us to where we belong. I wonder if the ransom wasn’t more than just dying on the cross. Paul, one of the first christians, in his letter to the first christians at a place called Philippi, explains that Jesus put his rights aside in order to seek what was in our best interest. Jesus gave his life up every day–becoming flesh and blood was a sacrifice! I think this is something that I have to learn more and more every day. Am I willing to give my life up every day–willing to say as Jesus said to the Father–”Not what I want. You, what do You want?” I am so driven by what I want, what will make me feel good and comfortable.
It doesn’t seem to make sense, but Jesus is essentially saying that to serve and to give our lives up for others is the best possible way to live life–maybe I won’t understand it until I do it. What would the people in my life say that I have come for? Sometimes, at my best, I hope they see that my desire and purpose is to be a living sacrifice, but I fear that at my most “normal” or worst, they see me dwelling on myself, not willing to leave my comfort zones. That’s not what I want. It’s not real life.

Whose interests am I most interested in?
Who/what does my life revolve around?
What will it take for me to give my life up as a servant?

the mission:day 2

[Read & meditate on Luke 4.14-21. How does your mission in life compare to Jesus' mission?]

Wow! I have to admit that while Jesus’ mission seemed to involve bettering the lives of those around him, I tend to be about bettering my own life. Even when I try to love on others, I struggle with wondering what is in it for me. It’s easy to ignore the fact that we live in a world filled with injustice, starvation, genocide, poverty, war, disease, etc. Especially when I am convinced that the real atrocity is that I can’t have what I want.
At the same time, it is just as easy to focus primarily on meeting the needs of people around the world, yet to at the same time be completely unaware of the myriad of opportunites to love the people in closest proximity to me.
Jesus came to put other people’s lives back together, I seem to be about trying to keep myself together. Something’s gotta give–living for me just isn’t working.

Who am I living for?
What is my life-mission? Will that mission really matter in the end?
What are the needs of the people around me?
What can I do about it?