"Mission"

Lightwave ADVENTure - M is for Mission

24 DAILY REFLECTIONS ON MISSION WITH THE LIGHTWAVE COMMUNITY

Jesus said, “Peace be with you:  As the Father has sent me, even  so I send you…Receive the Holy Spirit”John 20.21

We often remind ourselves in Lightwave that the word “Mission” comes from the Latin “mission” which means “I send”.  The term covers all the God sends us to do!  And this mean that for different groups of people, living out the gospel.  In this picture, a Lightwave group called Emerge is sharing their faith through woodland activities.  But the picture could have been of prayer for healing, doing shopping for neighbours, sharing something from the bible a crafting group or so many other things.  The practical outworking of mission is very diverse – but the heart of mission is the same:  Jesus sends us in the same way as his Father sent him:

How did the Father sent Jesus?

1. The Father sent Jesus to become one of us – to share our humanity, our lives, our joys and sorrows.  Mission for us looks like this too.  Although churches running events may often be a good thing, mission is not primarily about getting people to come to a church-run event:  It involves sharing peoples lives and every day experiences. It involves being guest as much as host. It builds relationship. We call this “incarnational mission”.
2. The Father sent Jesus to die for us on the cross.  Christ’s sacrificial love is at the heart of all Christian mission.  In sharing Christ’s love, there will always be things which we have to give up in order that someone else may experience God’s love.  It may be the sacrifice of time or wealth or reputation or our preferences for the way we worship or any number of things.  Christian mission always involves sacrificial love.

And like Jesus, we need the power of God’s Holy Spirit to be on mission in this way:

Jesus, what a privilege that You are sending us, just as you were sent by the Father.  Fill us afresh with your spirit that we might come alongside the people you have sent us to and show Your sacrificial love   Amen.