“Your mission, should you choose to accept it…” – is the opening line of every “Mission Impossible” movie. The protagonist then receives the details of his next assignment, which every time is indeed an impossible mission to accomplish, although in the movies, of course, he always succeeds in the end.
Once you have gotten to know Jesus Christ, and have learned to trust Him, He will have a mission for you as well! As stated at the beginning, God has a plan especially created for every one of us, and He chose us to fulfill this plan.
You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last…
John 15:16
Basically, it means to be a witness about your experiences finding and then following Jesus. In other words, sharing your testimony.
One of the first disciples in the Bible was Andrew and he immediately went and witnessed to his brother:
Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus.
John 1:40-42
Not everybody is called to be an apostle, preacher, or Bible teacher, etc., but anybody who knows Jesus personally and has been born again has a unique testimony to share! There is nobody else in the world or in history who met the Lord in the same way that you did; hence this is your story – share it wherever you go. You don’t have to argue, and nobody can refute what you say, this is the story of your life that you have lived. Who could say it’s not true?
The ex-prisoners among us may wonder whether their testimony of crime, prison and redemption might not be repulsive or shocking to others, but you should not worry about that! Did not Jesus choose you (see above, John 15:16)? Then you are not testifying about yourself, but about Him. Your life story, even if it was horrendous, if you’ve served the devil and destroyed lives, is renamed, and becomes an illustration about the reality of God’s existence, grace, and love, even for the vilest offenders.
In fact, this is what Jesus declared to be His own mission, when He preached the first sermon at His hometown Nazareth and surprised the folks who knew Him since childhood:
And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah (chapter 61:1-2) was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.
Luke 4:17-22
Jesus left us with a mission to fulfill, not a “mission impossible”, but one which He will support us with from the beginning to the end:
Matthew 28:18-20
It is also called “The Great Commission”. The ‘Mission Possible’ for every Christian. But we must “Go” and not just sit around doing nothing.
In particular, the poor and needy of this world are especially dear to Jesus and close to His heart, He even calls them His brothers and sisters in a more detailed description of the mission (in Matthew 25:31-46):
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.
For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.”
Are you surprised to read about prison as well? So were the listeners in this story. Note the reply of Jesus, the King:
“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”
Read the rest of the story in the Bible, to notice what He said to those who did nothing for those in need!
All this was said in the context of the events Jesus described as the “End Times” before His return to this world (in the entire chapter of Matthew 24). 2000 years later, we are getting closer to that moment now. But He also warned His listeners to be ready and to use of God-given talents fruitfully until He comes back (in Matthew 25:1-30)
