July 4th is the birthday of the United States. It was the date when the colonies became an independent country, the date when it finally secured the freedom and self-determination as a nation. The United States was born with a mission, namely to maintain freedom and values associated with freedom, such as freedom of speech, of religion, of assembly, and others. 

All of us were born for a mission. Our existence is not an accident in history. God brought us into this world for a reason, for His purpose. His purpose is our life’s mission. We are God’s mission on earth whether we know it or not. We often forget why we are in the world. We are busy accumulating wealth, building our public image, building network, and doing all kinds of things. The basic question is still “Why are we doing all those things?” Until we can answer the question, all those activities will leave us empty and in the dark. 

We believe in God who is the God of mission. He is the God who sent His Son to save us from sins. Jesus Christ came to earth with a clear mission: to save the lost. All the things He did like healing the sick, feeding the hungry, preaching the good news, and teaching God’s word were done in the context of fulfilling His mission. He is the Sent One. He is also the Sender. He sent His disciples to proclaim the kingdom of God and to do what He did. Jesus also sends us into the world today.

There are several reasons why we can easily forget our missional purpose on earth: 

1. We are busy for the sake of being busy.
2. We love to do one thing for its own sake, without any reference to God and His purpose.
3. We are discouraged by challenges and retreat to our comfort zone.
4. Our priority is our personal goals, not God’s purpose.
5. We love the present world with all its desires and forget that we are just temporary visitors here.

These are just a few among many reasons why we forget our missional existence. The Bible is full of God’s work of sending people. He sent Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Israel, and the prophets. He sent His Son and His Spirit. He is sending us. We are on a mission, not ours but God’s mission. God’s mission is so that the whole world knows Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. First, we have to know Him personally. We have to believe that Jesus alone is the answer to everyone’s problems. Second, we have to make Him known. Since we know that Jesus alone is the answer, we will do our best to present Him to others. 

We can get involved in God’s mission in a variety of ways. We can proclaim the gospel to others. We can help the proclamation of the gospel elsewhere. We can pray for missions and the salvation of the lost. We can participate in the fight against injustice, hunger, poverty, and other illnesses of the society with the hope of introducing Jesus Christ to people. We can, and in fact, we have to get involved in discipleship. We grow in our devotion as Jesus’ disciples, and we lead others in the same direction. In short, we have to discover the purpose of life in the light of God’s mission. 

Pray that the Lord will show you how you can be faithful to God’s mission in your life today. Whatever personal missions that God has for each one of us, they center around the gospel: the person and work of Jesus Christ. In all that we say and do, we should grow in our knowledge of Christ and our passion to make Him known by others. We encourage and pray for one another as we embark on the same mission to glorify Jesus Christ. 

Rev. Wilson Suwanto