It’s happened to most of us. You are at home, busily getting things done, focused, even a bit frenzied…you’re on a “mission.” And in the midst of it you walk from one room to another with a great sense of purpose only to be stopped in your tracks by the question:
“What did I come in here for?”
We can blame it on a lot of things. Age can be blamed. Busyness can be blamed. Stress can be blamed. Caring for young children can be blamed. Juggling hats can be blamed. Whatever the reason, it happens. What you started with a great sense of purpose and energy gets stopped by distraction and confusion and, ultimately, forgetfulness.
It makes me think of December. We enter the month with a great deal of purpose:
∙ This year I’m going to spend less
∙ This year I’m going to make it simpler
∙ This year I’m going to make it about relationships, and not “stuff”
∙ This year I’m going to make it about worship
∙ This year….
And for many of us we find ourselves halfway through the month or on Christmas Eve gasping for breath and saying, “What was I going to do in this month?”
Mission and purpose are easily derailed. Thankfully, God has never been derailed from his purpose. He entered our world on a mission which he never forgot and never strayed from. Jesus quoted these words from the prophet, Isaiah to declare the mission he was on:
The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners…. (Isaiah 61:1)
Jesus stayed the course from cradle to grave and back again. He fulfilled his mission and
brought us salvation. And he calls us to join in his mission. I’m excited by the kinds of expressions of the grace of Jesus that our Life Groups have engaged in: making “Release Kits” for people released from prison, filling shoeboxes for children overseas, sharing gift cards and invitations to events at Westview. As a church we’ve also been challenged to collect winter clothing for the good people at the CMHA Coffee House. We’ve ALSO been challenged to “buy” the CBM “Hopeful Gifts for Change” catalogue to bless people around the world. Amazing expressions of the Mission of Jesus.
Even as we engage in these wonderful ministries of blessing, we can get derailed if we forget the One who has blessed us with his life, Jesus Christ. He has brought good news to you and me because he loves us. He loves everyone, even the “least.” And sometimes the greatest reminder we can have of that is to simply tell someone that God loves them. It requires us to remember his love for us and to remember that his love doesn’t stop with us. Keep your eyes open through your day today and each day for someone who may not know that they are loved. Take the time to show them. And have the courage to tell them. And as you tell them, remember, that is why you are in this place, to share the love of God through Jesus.