The Mission of God
All of our lives are used for something. Most people spend their lives focused on growing a family, building their career, or amassing possessions.
While none of those things are necessarily wrong, they can become distractions from our ultimate goal in life.
In the book of Acts, we see Paul’s transformation in Christ. As a result of meeting Jesus and being changed by His grace, Paul spends the rest of his life preaching the good news of Jesus.
For Paul, God’s grace and salvation is so great that nothing on this earth is as important as God’s work.
Paul says that nothing in His life matters as much as telling others about God’s grace. His goal in life was to finish his own race well by faithfully accomplishing as much of the mission of God as possible:
"However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God's grace."
Acts 20:24 NIV
The mission of God is not opposed to growing families or building careers. In fact, God desires for us to use those opportunities to faithfully accomplish the mission of God. We can raise families in the way of God, and we can tell our coworkers about God’s grace. Any place we find ourselves in can be an opportunity to accomplish the mission of God.
Take a moment to consider your own life and where you spend your time. Are you using every opportunity you have to spread the good news of Jesus? Does your life, like Paul’s, point toward God?
Consider a few ways that you can begin to change your perspective and live your life on mission for God.
1 Corinthians 14:33 NKJV
For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.
God is not the author of confusion: If there is confusion and disorder at a church meeting, it isn’t from God. God may do things we don’t understand, and things that seem strange or unpredictable to us, but there will not be a general atmosphere of confusion or weirdness.
i. Some, in justifying their strange and unbiblical practices at church meetings, have declared this spiritual principle: “God cannot reach the heart without offending the mind.” This is unscriptural nonsense. It results in the attitude that the more confused and crazy and weird it is, the more it must be from God. How different from the teaching of Paul here! - David Guzik
In my reading of scripture, this verse stuck with me as how God does not want chaos in the Church.
#verseoftheday #alwaysreadincontext