Life on Purpose

“So, stay at your post, watching. You have no idea when the homeowner is returning, whether evening, midnight, cockcrow, or morning. You don’t want him showing up unannounced, with you asleep on the job.” Mark 13:35, 36 (The Message)

I wonder if too many Christians live for Christ by counting the number of things they no longer do. We are content to share a testimony that enumerates all of our previous bad habits that we no longer practice. So, for us, Christ has become the ultimate personal life-coach, taking us from drinking to sobriety, cussing to correct language, promiscuity to restraint and partying to piety.

There is nothing wrong with being happy about no longer being oppressed by habits we had tried so long to break. The power of Christ to release us from life-consuming behaviors is worth singing about. But, if we stop there, merely being former drinkers, former partiers, “former” this and “former” that, some may be tempted to ask, “Yes, but what are you NOW?”

You see, Jesus doesn’t come into our lives just to clean us up and make us feel better about ourselves. He calls us to a mission. And perhaps that is our problem. We have preached about “change” for so long that we miss the reason for the change. Just like a recruit for the army has to give up many things in boot camp; the purpose of all that change is to fulfill the mission of his regiment.

Jesus calls us to a mission to share the wonderful news that God has lovingly brought mankind back to Himself. We are to take that message, Christ crucified for the sins of the world, into every relationship, every conversation, and to each part of our lives. The change Jesus makes in our lives is so we can be more effective in the mission to which He has called us.

Do you live your life as if you are actually on a mission? Or, do you simply wake up each day and let circumstances carry you where they will? Do you think, “Jesus did something wonderful in my life, and now my life’s mission is to let people know about Him.” Or, do pretty much live your life as you did before Christ, except now you don’t drink or smoke or cuss while you do it?

I think it is somewhat like a store employee whose boss leaves the store for an unspecified time to run errands. “I’ll be back in a while,” she says. “And I expect to find you doing your job.” You hear her words and they make sense to you. You are a bit more focused on being “good” until she returns.

Just before closing she returns from her errands and finds you sitting behind the counter, watching the front door. Although she doesn’t say it, you are concerned she is not entirely pleased with you. To protect yourself, you reply, in all truth, “I did what you wanted. I was a really good employee while you were gone. I didn’t take any money out of the till. I only took one 10 minute break, which I am allowed; I didn’t take one minute longer. I didn’t call any friends while you were gone, and I made sure to keep the doors unlocked.”

But isn’t that how some of us think about Jesus’ return? What if Jesus finds you partying, drinking…fill in your own “sin”. So, we make sure we are not doing any of those things, just like our employee made sure NOT to steal. The problem was, the mission of the store had nothing to do with people NOT stealing.

The store’s mission was probably something like: “We exist to provide a quality product at good value to our customers, while providing a comfortable atmosphere to shop, and a good living for our employees.” The employee didn’t break any rules, but he didn’t live up to the mission!

Dear believer, if only we would leave aside the concern about breaking rules and truly enter into a mission mindset. How would that change our decisions about life? How would that influence what job you take, how you spend your time, what conversation you have with friends? If your life is about fulfilling Jesus’ mission, won’t you be busy, not just leaving aside the “bad” things, but truly doing His work now.

Don’t forget, He is returning. And I don’t think He’s going to ask about the last time you drank. In fact, in one narrative, we know what Jesus was interested in. He noted that those who were there when He returned had visited Him in prison, fed Him when he was hungry, provided Him company when He was sick, and clothed Him when He was without clothing. In other words, when He returned, they were caught actually doing something for Him.

He is returning, and what will He discover about your life? Are you just an employee who can’t wait for your shift to be up, who is simply happy he didn’t steal from the register? Or, are you fully invested in the mission of Jesus’ heart? Do you make excuses about really being on His team? Do you feel giving up your previous vices is really all He should ask? Or, have you really caught the passion that Jesus ahs for people who still need to hear about His love?