Are You On Mission?

Manned Rocket Being Launched Into Space

What is your level of frustration these days? Are you feeling fulfilled?  Do you feel a little disjointed with your life, not quite sure you are doing what you should be doing?

In our current climate, we live in a world of people hurting, dying in agony, sorrow, frustration, anger, sorrow, sorrow, hostility, bitterness, resentment, disappointment, disillusionment, depression, and despair.  Sounds pretty depressing.  Does not seem to be getting better either.  We seem to move from one level of chaos to the next in rapid succession.

Further complicating things is that we live in a society that is very hedonistic.  We are told through social media and advertising to live in the present.  Enjoy the moment. Society’s ongoing philosophy is eat, drink, and be merry because tomorrow we die.  If it feels good, then do it – now.  My truth is how I define it.  If you don’t agree with my truth, you are wrong and really can be labeled with numerous degenerative tags because you disagree with me.

We have progressed to where we base our value based on the number of “likes” or positive comments or emojis we get on social media. We see others on social media and compare ourselves with them to identify our inadequacies --- people that live such perfect lives must be right and I am just missing the mark in being able to attain their success / followers.

The prevailing belief is that if I just get the next “big thing”, then I will be on my way to a better life?  What constitutes a “big thing”?  It is a better job, a better house / apartment, a better car, nicer clothes, a better look, an enviable side hustle, etc.  However, all those things seem just out of my reach. That golden ring just eludes me.

Sometimes we get caught up in our own timeline and what the other players are doing, and we just need to stop, breathe, look around and realize exactly what we were meant to be.

Have you ever stopped to consider the answer to some fundamental questions?  Who am I --- really?  What am I doing here?  What is my purpose? How do I accomplish this purpose in my life?  How can I make a difference?

I believe that our world view affects a lot of the answers to those questions. If we evolved from some primordial gases that randomly interacted in ratios to create what we believe evolved into sentient life, then the hedonistic lifestyle probably makes sense. We die and our fabric deteriorates back into the fabric of the universe.

I subscribe to a different world view.  I believe that humans were created in God’s image.  Unlike other forms of life on our planet, God “breathed life” into man (Genesis 2:7) and women were created by God from that God-breathed form (Genesis 2:22-23).  As a result, humans have a soul. Our ancestors chose to disobey God and their unbroken fellowship with Him was broken. As a result, we live in a broken world and have this God-shaped hole in our being that can only be filled by restoring that relationship.   

There are huge implications to that. God knew me before I was born (Psalms 139:13) and numbered my days before I was born (Psalms 139:16). I read a daily devotional from Oswald Chambers.  One of his quotes was “God takes us beyond our own aspirations and ideas for our lives, and molds and shapes us for His purpose.” Think about that for a moment.  The God who created the universe, has known me intimately since before I was born. He wants a relationship with me and is actively working in my life to mold me into the purpose He has for me. 

We all have our own path, our own story.  It is a journey to become the person that God intends us to be. Not as some robotic being, but as a person with free will that can choose to restore that relationship with the Creator and to allow Him to mold me into the person He intended me to be as He prepares me to spend eternity with Him.

The most powerful influence in our lives is the transforming Grace of God.

What does God see when He looks at me?

-          We see ourselves as unfinished products, but He sees me for what He intended me to be

-          He sees me as a person of value / worth

-          He sees me as a person of great promise.

We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, a masterpiece, a person of notable significance. 

God’s plan is that we are His workmanship!

So, how do I get back On Mission?

1.      I need to restore my relationship with the God who created me

2.      Only God can fill that “God shaped hole” in my being.

3.      We are separated from God by the sin nature that entered humanity in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve’s disobedience. Romans 3:23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

4.      Christ was born outside the sin nature of man (immaculate conception), lived, was crucified, and resurrected to pay the penalty for man’s collective sin. Romans 6:23  For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Furthermore, Romans 5:8 God demonstrated His love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

5.      As we respond to God’s prompting to restore the relationship He intended, we are able to fill that God-shaped hole in our being.   Romans 10:9 That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord” and you believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

6.      As a Christ-follower, I receive His Holy Spirit as a promise or seal of having that restored relationship with the Creator of the Universe. The Holy Spirit is a Helper to guide us (John 14:5).

7.      As I seek God’s plan for my life, He will guide me, teach me, and equip me to become the person He intended me to be.

We are like rough diamonds being polished for the eternal sons and daughters He intends us to be.  Gems being polished are being “roughed up” to get to the desired perfect state.  When I was a child, my brother had a gemstone polishing kit.  We would gather rocks (no gems, we WERE children) and put them into this tumbling device.  As the rocks tumbled against each other, their rough edges were over the course of time smothered into “polished” stones. 

Our life journey is like that.  We go through good and bad times that are helping to shape us into the person we are and person we are to become.

Getting back to the original question. Are you on mission?  Are you feeling fulfilled in you career and in your relationships with co-workers, family, and friends?  Is a mid-course correction required to help you get (or get back) to becoming the person you were intended to become? That usually involves re-examining your relationship with God, the significant people in your life, you career, and aspirations.  Life is short (and eternity is infinity).  Getting the relationships right and doing the things that help you to become who you were intended to be and to make a positive contribution to the world around you is a choice. 

It takes initiative to get over the inertia and to get started.