What Do You Think Really Matters In Mission?
Good Morning Friends,
The more I work in mission the more I realize that it is not my job to discover the community’s needs, but to discover the talents of its people and help put them under new management that creatively converges faith and works to God’s glory.
We are missing out on the better way of Christ when we deny the importance of creativity. Here I see tremendous business opportunities and countless mission opportunities intertwined with a change in attitude than can power up the economy and also power up people to be more resilient. In a society that overvalues progress and personal achievement even our spiritual lives could become performance oriented. We think about levels and phases and stages, but in the life of the Spirit these measurements are not important. What matters is that we descend with our mind through the roof and into the heart of our condition and there at the feet of the Lord who sees everything within us, stand facing God in the prayer of our friends and then take it to the streets. Here we discover that we are not in control. Here we discover that Jesus really is our friend. Here we discover that when all is said and done, it is faith and trust in God, experienced in fellowship that is important. This is how we experience love. What Do You Think Really Matters In Mission?
Scripture: For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.
Ephesians 2:10
When he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. So many gathered around that there was no longer room for them, not even in front of the door; and he was speaking the word to them. Then some people came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. And when they could not bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him; and after having dug through it, they let down the mat on which the paralytic lay. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, “Why does this fellow speak in this way? It is blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” At once Jesus perceived in his spirit that they were discussing these questions among themselves; and he said to them, “Why do you raise such questions in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Stand up and take your mat and walk’? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”–he said to the paralytic– “I say to you, stand up, take your mat and go to your home.” And he stood up, and immediately took the mat and went out before all of them; so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”
Mark 2:1-12 (NRSV)
God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
1 Corinthians 1:9 (NRSV)
Message: I have been praying for about 50 years and contemplating prayer long before that and on occasion my mind would descend into my heart. This first happened when I looked up at a night sky or contemplated the light refracting in the prism of a rainbow at sunset. But today I experience it more when I am surrounded by friends not even saying a word or in acknowledging the value of person society considers poor or disabled. Honestly there have been times that I thought less of another person than I should. But my faith draws me to the underdog. That is why my work has gravitated to a place called Immokalee. That is why I rejoice in this place that society considers home to the least, the last and the lost. Society misses the point. All lives matter and just as you are God’s workmanship so is each person on this planet. And it is here when we have Jesus is in the heart of our home that good things can happen. This spiritual journey has been long. Back in college, I was silent for a month, I practiced yoga, I meditated and chanted and danced as a whirling Sufi to experience God. On the journey I have read ancient texts and sung the Psalms. I have led Bible studies and then I served as a change agent for social issues and in all this I have come to the conclusion that without a well formed heart to guide a well formed life our efforts in mission come up short. They need to converge for conversion to be completed. It does not do much good until we learn to seek the face of God in everything, everyone, everywhere…all the time. So currently I write this devotional to focus my mind but I also study the Bible seeking the Word it has for me daily in small groups so my heart can be healed for service. The journey is both inward and outward. Here I learn from my friends not so much by what they say but by what they do. We read the Bible aloud. We meditate on its message in silence. We pray. On occasions we ask questions and then radically apply the answers we glean to our present situations. Some of us are churchmen, others are missionaries and philanthropists…still others seekers. And here I have learned that the spiritual journey is about unity, diversity, opportunity and God’s glory. What I have discovered is that the crisis of our times calls for neither politics nor piety but a new spirituality rooted in ancient traditions and applied to our present circumstances…I have learned that we need a prayer life that gets us to stand up as a witness that our physical, emotional, intellectual, volitional and moral energies can converge in community in and through creative acts of mission. Friends, we need to apply this vast and largely untapped power. Our journey in mission should be a miracle just as real as the one in today’s scripture. So friends, know this,
the church doesn’t directly change culture, but it disciples and supports of people do. To engage this change ask what you do well enough that you could share. Think about what you would like to learn that you do not already know. Think about who besides God and perhaps me is going with you along the way. The mission is to creatively learn how to join God. The cause is compassion.
Pray we not neglect our spiritual development. Pray that our inward spiritual development is formed, reformed and transformed in that place of the heart where we individually experience love and collectively encounter God. Pray we are moved to express this love received in love given for others through ministry. Pray that the seat of our will come together with the source of all our physical, emotional, intellectual, volitional and moral energies so that we are moved in a constant prayer to a place where we are chiseled day by day into the likeness of Christ. Pray we rejoice in the authority of Christ. Pray we realize in service to the poor that we do not possess our own wealth, but theirs. Pray we offer an admission of our trouble. Pray that prayer be part of our mission to others as well as part of the blessings for ourselves. Pray that when we see God’s children in need we be creative and compassionate in how we respond. Pray we welcome others….lead others… equip others. Pray we affirm others. Pray we connect disciples in mission. Pray each day we become more and more in every way like Christ and be the body of Christ together. Pray that Christ rules in our hearts. Pray we learn to love each other. Pray we magnify God, grow in maturity, serve in ministry and fulfill the mission we have been called and commissioned to do. Pray we engage in missions of substance as part of God’s team. Pray we be part of the great plan He has set out for us. Pray we remove the barriers that keep others from experiencing joy. Pray we have a heart for mission that is not toxic to others.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 