Missing our mission
- Jacob Ninan
God sent King Saul on a mission to destroy all the Amalekites and everything they had (1Sa.15:3). God's plan was the extermination of Amalek because of their wickedness (Ps.83:4,7). But Saul didn't see it that way. He may have thought of it as just another battle to fight. So he may have thought it wouldn't be seriously wrong to spare Agag, the king of Amalek, and the best of all that he saw (1Sa.15:9). He missed God's real mission for him, because he didn't understand it in the first place.
When we think about God's plan for our lives, many think only about major decisions like marriage, job, etc. They think they are just ordinary people and that their lives don't count much for God. It is as if God has value only for 'spiritual' 'five-fold' ministries namely the work of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors or teachers (Ep.4:11,12). As a result, many miss out on their 'mission' in life, even as they live their lives on earth.
It is a wrong teaching that there are only five major ministries in the church. As we can see from other places in the NT (Ro.12:6-8; 1Co.12:8-10), there are many different gifts and callings that God gives to people for serving His purpose. Another misunderstanding is is that only work related to spiritual aspects can be called serving God -- falsely dividing between 'spiritual' and 'secular' work. Whenever we do what God wants us to do at that time, we are serving God (Co.3:23,24). A man selling grocery or a mother bathing her baby is serving God at that point as well as a pastor preaching a sermon, because each one is doing what God wants them to do. Selling grocery in a way that bears witness to the Lord is his mission, and so on. Wherever God has placed us and whatever He has asked us to do, to be a witness for Him there in that way is our mission. This is what gives dignity and responsibility for our life.
What God seeks to do is to 1) save (regenerate) and bring people into His universal church (not buildings but the spiritual body of Christ that consists of all who have been regenerated everywhere), 2) work in each one of His people to transform them into the character of His Son, and 3) exhibit them as witnesses to the world and use them to draw more people into this church. We see in Ep.4:11,12 that God uses the leaders in the church to train and equip the others so that all of us can serve Him in His work. What we need to also see is that what these so-called 'ordinary people' do is also necessary in return to support the leaders as they lead the church. Everyone has a role that supports the others (v.16). One group cannot exist without the other.
When we recognise the special mission God has given us and learn to be faithful to that, comparison and competition cease. Our reward from the Lord is not based on who did the most, but on who did most efficiently with what he was given (Lk.19:17). The men with 5 and 2 talents got the same commendation, because they were equally faithful.