The Heart of God / A Heart of Mission
Discipleship is Missionby Mary Fisher
Mission is at the very heart of everything about which God is concerned. Central to this concern is the truth that the Creator loves the universe created by the word of God. The reality of this truth is reflected in the whole of history during which God has consistently sought a relationship with human persons.
Furthermore, God continues to seek relationship with all of the created order. Our Creator is persistent.
Starting with Genesis 1 and continuing throughout the Scripture, God's concern for the entire world and the whole of creation is reflected. And Genesis puts human beings in the middle of the story. Not only are we humans active players in God's story, but as we respond with acceptance or rejection of the Creator's gracious care for us, the world in which we live is affected.
Human persons are placed in relationship with God, each other and the world. Jesus himself demonstrates these relationships from the very beginning of his public ministry. While at the wedding in Cana, a party celebrating the permanence of relationships, Jesus steps in and performs the extraordinary by changing water into wine. In the ordinary, he demonstrates the extraordinary.
Throughout Jesus' ministry, we see him developing relationships with all kinds of persons and then demonstrating his love for them. He calls us to join him in this ministry. In the context of relationships and day to day activity, we are invited to participate as the extraordinary God of the universe breaks into our world.
Paul's letters are a constant call to mission in the context of relationship to God and the community of believers. The New Testament insists that mission comes out of the life of the New Covenant community or church established through the death and resurrection of Jesus and the outpouring of the Spirit of God. The imperatives of New Testament scripture predominantly relate to our relationships in this New Covenant community. It is out of reconciliation with one another as well as with our Creator that we are thrust into the world to make known this God of the universe.
If we develop a heart like God's, it must lead to action. When we understand that God's character is one of action and faithfulness as exemplified in Jesus, we are also moved to action. Our God is one who speaks and acts. They are one and the same. The Hebrew word for "word" is dabar, which literally means both action and word. We have no adequate English word for it. Therefore one cannot speak the word of God without action. There must be coherence between what we say and what we do. They must be as one ... God is always gracious and loving and faithful to act. There is no division in these in God's character and there must be none in ours.
We often see mission as artificial and disjointed because of our fallen nature.. The Fall causes us to fragment our lives. Redemption and mission calls us back to a whole view of God and His creation.
But our own fallenness and the consequent brokenness of the world creates fear in us and paralyzes us for action. We fear the immensity of the task of making Christ known. We fear irrelevance in a world we often times do not understand. We fear rejection which touches the core of our need for relationships. Therefore we need community.
It is through community that we become encouraged and equipped to demonstrate the Gospel in a relevant fashion. Whether our community consists of only a few or many, we become a visible manifestation of God's love and care for the created order.
As we allow the Spirit of God to make us into a radical community, mission comes into focus. Mission begins to shape our orientation to life both individually and corporately. Mission then becomes integrated into every facet of our lives. It will not be just a part of our life, but it will permeate every aspect of our lives as the Holy Spirit conforms us to the image of Jesus Christ.
by Mary Fisher, [former] Associate Director of Missions, InterVarsity-USA
Unless otherwise noted, all materials on the urbana.org web site are Copyright InterVarsity Christian Fellowship / USA. All rights reserved.
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