“Mission is not primarily an activity of the church, but an attribute of God. God is a missionary God.” – David Bosch
I would take this quote one step further: Mission is not merely an attribute of God, one among many things that God is… God is holy, God is omnipotent, God is omniscient… but that mission is God’s heart, God’s core, God’s constant motivation. Mission is a function of the love of God. God is love. Love is what and who God is. He is One who extends outside of himself to offer communion with his creatures. God is relationship. Mission is the outward expression of the love that exists within the community of the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
God is a missionary God. God the Father sends Himself. God the Father sends the Son. God the Father and God the Son send the Church in the Power and Presence of God the Holy Spirit. God is a sending God.
So, if God is a sending, missionary God, then we are a sent, missionary people. We are a people on the move. We are a people with an outward focus. We are not merely a people with a mission, we are the mission, God’s mission.
At its heart, our mission is communal, is relational, and is loving. We are extending the communion God has offered us to all people. Just think about it. Every single person you see today. Every one! Every person is created in the image of God and for communion with God. Period. This is the highest calling, to be in relationship with God. Jesus Christ came to make that relationship possible. There is no person you will see today on whom God has given up. No matter who they are or what they are about, God’s desire for them is a life of fullness, of wholeness, and of peace. God’s heart for them, and for you, is a life of blessing. He has gone on an all-out mission to help them turn to him and experience his love.
So, if we are connected to God, if we are in communion with God, then we are a part of this mission of making his love known to and experienced by all. What are we doing about it?
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