“Who do you say that I am?” Jesus asked this question of his followers, and He asks this same question to each of us. By deciding who Jesus is to us, we each, very literally, define who we are as well. Long before this trip I had personally decided that Jesus was and is the Lord and Savior of my life. I would no longer be in control, but I would follow after the things of Christ. So what exactly was I committing to when I made this declaration? A life of happiness, serving, and loving; or maybe even a life of hypocrisy, sinning, and condemnation?
Matthew 28:19 tells me that I have committed to going and telling the nations about God, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. After reading this verse, you must understand my confusion when I found out the first day of our mission trip would be spent at the beach. Yes, the one with sand and water. I was astounded that we had already begun to waste time indulging ourselves when we had a whole nation of people before us, just waiting to be baptized in these names. The very moment I stepped foot on that sand, I had decided this was not a mission trip, and there would be very little genuine impact made here.
I guess at that moment, I had forgotten the God that I serve. How foolish of me to believe that the only way God would show up on this island would be through my sweat and blisters. My God is love, and He desires to have intimate relationships with His creation. He has gifted us with the ability to forge these same relationships with one another. With this gift He spoke a responsibility through His son. Jesus said, “ thou shalt love the Lord with all thy heart, soul, mind, and strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like this, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” Immediately I saw a connection between these to commands, and the aforementioned Great Commission. Not only are they similar, but also they are a like a trinity. You cannot have one with out having a healthy balance of all three. Before you can love others as Jesus loves, you must first love Jesus. Likewise, before you can share Jesus’ love with others, you must love them first. I have learned that through following these commands, we are on mission. We may be on mission to please God in our relationship, show others a selfless love, or serve others in an effort to make disciples. Whatever it may look like, if we continue to honor God through these commands, He will continue to show up. Even though, at the moment on that beach, I didn’t see us as missionaries, God opened my eyes. He continuously, and persistently provided us with opportunities to meet people, love them, and share the Gospel. It is safe to say that God very rapidly changed my definition of missions. Missions: Worshiping with our lives, in kinship with others.
Dude, great words. Man – this speaks to me. It’s a great reminder that our lives is our worship. Not only the things we do, but who we are and the overflow of the works. Such a great time with you man. Was too short, wish we had more time together!