It's not uncommon to begin asking the "big questions" at some point in our lives: Why am I here? What is my purpose? What is my mission? How will I know whether or not I'm fulfilling my purpose? Those who don't have a personal belief in God have to dig deep to find answers. "My purpose is to help preserve the species. My purpose is to fulfill our social contract," etc. On the other hand, those who see God as the creator and Lord of everything have a very different sense of purpose. It's possible to not only get answers to the big questions for our personal lives but also for humanity, for the world, for history, for the created order.
Fortunately, if we are committed to following Jesus, the answer to the question, "What is my (our) mission?" has been answered for us. I still find it amazing that Jesus would entrust his mission to his followers. "As the Father has sent me, I am sending you" (John 20:21). In other words, Jesus said, "I am sending you on the same mission the Father sent me on." In the same way the Father sent Jesus, he is sending us. We know what our mission is: It is to announce the Good News (Mark 16:15). It is to recruit other followers of Jesus from every people group on earth, to show them how to follow Jesus by "teaching them to obey" every thing Jesus has commanded us (Matthew 28:18-20). Every generation in every time and place has the same mission - until Jesus brings this age to an end.
Lately I've been reflecting on the challenges faced by the first generation of the church. With a clear understanding of and commitment to the mission, with a holy passion burning in their hearts, they set out to proclaim and disciple. But the societies to which they were called were as opposite to the message as possible. There was little respect for human life. It was not uncommon for unwanted babies to be simply thrown into the town dump. A sense of the sanctity of marriage and family, of human sexuality, was long gone. Some Greek intellectuals taught that homosexual relationships were morally superior to heterosexual relationships (since women were viewed as sub-human). At best, men viewed women as property and divorced them for any and all reasons. Marital unfaithfulness was completely unknown. In Roman society, being bi-sexual was the norm. Paul had to address the problem of men attending social banquets (orgies) on Saturday evening before gathering to worship on Sunday (the background of 1 Corinthians 6 & 7).
Knowing the environment in which the church had to carry on the Jesus mission, I've looked for invectives against Greek or Roman culture. It only seems sensible to believe that part of the church's mission would have been to expose and condemn the sinfulness of the societies they were in. Instead I find statements like these:
"Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established" (Romans 13:1).
"I urge then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made . . . for kings and all those in authority" (1 Timothy 2:1-2).
"Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him" (1 Peter 2:13-14).
Even when the emperor declared the new faith to be illegal and began to systematically oppress and slaughter the followers of Jesus, those early disciples never lost sight of the mission they had been entrusted with.
Don't get me wrong! Part of their mission to "make disciples" included living out the alternative to the way of life typical of their day. In fact, the very fact that they were called "followers of the Way" indicated their commitment to being counter-cultural. They had very high standards within their local communities. Paul's instructions in 1 Corinthians 5 are an excellent example. The Corinthian congregation thought it was acceptable to allow someone having an incestuous relationship with his step-mother to remain in full fellowship with them. Paul begged to differ! While that kind of thing was common in Roman society, it was not acceptable in the church. In that context Paul drew clear lines: "I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral, greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler" (v. 11). The "way" of the surrounding culture was not to be the "Way" of the followers of Jesus.
However, there was no suggestion that those standards be imposed on those outside of the faith community. " . . . not meaning the people of this world . . . . In that case you would have to leave this world" (v. 10). The way of life of committed disciples was not to be used as a way of rejecting those who were not followers of Jesus. In fact, drawing those lines would result in the church not only leaving the world but leaving the mission as well. You can't recruit new disciples if you reject those who are potential disciples.
Recently I had an experience that caused me to question whether or not the mission had been redefined. I had students tell me they were so depressed they couldn't concentrate on their assignments. Church leaders declared that the wrath of God was coming on us. Passionate debates broke out about whether or not a disciple should eat with certain kinds of sinners. And the cause of all this consternation? The Supreme Court of the United States had ruled that it was no longer legal to discriminate in any way against homosexuals. To be clear, I consider homosexual behavior to be wide of the mark, to fall short of the glory of God, to be sinful. However, the SCOTUS does not constitute the leaders of the church. They were not attempting to exegete Scripture. They were not commenting on biblical moral standards. They were fulfilling a legal function in American society (whether or not we like their decision).
In fact, it made me wonder whether or not the American church tends to confuse the United States with the Body of Christ. Recognizing the traditional Christian elements in our American culture does not mean that our nation is the Kingdom of God. Other believers in history have made the mistake of confusing their community or state with God's Kingdom community, and it has never ended well. The United States of America is a human nation, a modern state. I can't tell you how blessed I am to have been born in America. But confusing my beloved country with the Kingdom of God is a theological error.
In fact, Scripture is very clear in showing nations rising and falling. It reminds me of the dream Daniel interpreted for Nebuchadnezzar (chapter 2). In the symbol of a large statue (vv. 31ff) Daniel described a series of empires rising and falling - the Babylonian, then the Persian, the Greek, and finally the Roman. Over a period of many hundreds of years these great societies rose to a pinnacle only to follow a predictable pattern of decline and eventual fall. However, the good news was that in the days of the Roman Emperors, "the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed" (v. 44). At the end of history there will only be one kingdom left - the Kingdom of God.
While I am a citizen of the United States, committed to serving as a faithful, engaged citizen, my prior citizenship, my permanent citizenship, is in God's Kingdom. My first loyalty is to my King. My personal mission has been entrusted to me by my King. And no decision of the Executive, Legislative, or Judicial branch of the American government can alter my sense of identity or purpose. Responding by expressing my disappointment and anger toward certain ones in our nation runs the risk of compromising my ability to recruit new disciples among them. Insisting on my right to reject them simply disengages me from the very reason why I'm sucking air on this planet.
We are here to "serve the purpose of God in our generation." We shouldn't be all that shocked when sinners demonstrate their commitment to sinning. Our mission is not to condemn them or reject them. Instead, we are called to continue to announce the Good News to them. God loves them so much he sent his Son to die for them. We all need a Savior! Fortunately, we have one - in Jesus!
