Mission 01: The Life of Mission
Orientate
I (Dan) was drilling a hole in my wall the other day to hang some new shelves, and soon realised that I didn’t have a small enough drill bit to fit the screw I would be using. Instead of driving to Bunnings to get the right tool for the job, I shrugged and tried to make-do with a larger drill bit. It didn’t go well! I’ll spare you the details but needless to say, I now have a huge gaping hole in my laundry wall with nothing hanging on it. It serves as a daily reminder for me: know what needs to be done and do it properly. So what are Christians supposed to be doing? In today’s reading, the Apostle Peter (one of Jesus’ best mates who spent a lot of time with him) lays out the epic purpose of a Christian and their church. This is the ultimate task for which we have been chosen and brought together with others.
Explore: 1 Peter 2:9-12
9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
11 Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. 12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
Journal
1. What is God saying to me? Which verse is most significant?
2. What do I want to discuss/explore further?
3. What do I need to do?
4. What is the purpose of God’s chosen people?
Reflect
Take a moment to consider the first verse (2:9). You are God’s trophy. You are his “special possession” that he has gone out of his way to choose and personally make holy and blameless. Like a car enthusiast who polishes his new Porsche daily, or a fashionista who has just found the ‘perfect’ dress, God loves to sit and gaze upon you in admiration and pride and go “Yesssss!”.
But you are not just a trophy to be left on the shelf; protected while you wait for heaven. Peter says your entire life’s mission is now to be declarers: part of a team who “declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light”. You are called to be a signpost to those around you that says, “God is actually real and astonishingly amazing because he is changing my life.”
Like an incredible piano player who doesn’t bother to play, if you don’t do the very thing you are purposed to do then you will eventually experience frustration and apathy in your Christian journey.
So does this mean that you now need to loudly ‘declare’ to everyone you meet today about how great God is? Well… Yes it is important to tell people (we’ll get to that soon), but have a look at the advice Peter gives in 2:11-12. One of the primary ways in which we can fulfil our mission of declaring God’s greatness is to make him great in our own lives, greater than any of the other desires that are waging war for first place in our hearts. You are now a foreigner in your own country because you serve a different king, have a different passion and are on a different mission. Living in God’s presence makes you different and this will eventually stand out!
Pray
Father, thank you that you have chosen me. I still sometimes find it hard to believe that I am so special to you when I feel so ordinary and broken. Help me to see that my life’s ultimate purpose is not to be happy, or successful, or even to have a great family. Give me a passion for the purpose you have now given me - to be a signpost in this world that points people to you. I so much want people to see Jesus in me.
Respond
Have a think about one way that your ultimate purpose is different to your friends who don’t follow Jesus and write it down in your journal.
