O God, early in the morning I cry to you. Help me to pray And to concentrate my thoughts on you: I cannot do this alone. In me there is darkness, But with you there is light; I am lonely, but you do not leave me; I am feeble in heart, but with you there is help; I am restless, but with you there is peace. In me there is bitterness, but with you there is patience; I do not understand your ways, But you know the way for me… Restore me to liberty, And enable me to live now That I may answer before you and before me. Lord, whatever this day may bring, Your name be praised.
What is it that God wants most? What are His most priceless treasures? What does God love above all else? You and me. The ‘cherished missing.’ What He wants most is for His lost children to be found. What He loves above all else are those for whom He gave His son. His most treasured possessions are you and me … and people like the priest I saw in India a couple of years ago.
I was in the lobby of the hotel, waiting for a ride to the Andheri church where I was to preach. Busy at the statue of “sai baba” (an infamous god in Mumbai) was some kind of priest. He was not a typical priest in that he was dressed very plainly, without shoes or socks. As I watched, he continued to put more flowers on the idol. He sprinkled drops of water on the flowers, ceremoniously sipped some water from his hand, and then touched some of the water to his head. Then he took several sticks of incense, lighted them, and smoothly guided the smoke-aroma all around the idol. Finally, with one last act of devotion, I could see him urgently whispering words to the stone image, and then he placed his forehead on the god’s foot. The smoke still lingered around the idol as I walked away, as my ride had come. How well he represents the spiritual condition of many in the world; even in our own neighborhoods. So desperate to believe in something that will care; someone to love them and intervene in their lives.
On the way to the church we stopped at a traffic signal, I looked to the left and then to the right, and saw a filthy, gaunt-tangled human form with a crazed look on his face. He was sitting on a rock, and all of the sudden, his eyes connected with mine. Just then I wondered if the spirit that had influenced him could somehow sense the Spirit of the One within me. I went by that place a half dozen times and he was there on that rock –all day and all night –hair and nails long; ragged, tattered clothes hanging from his body of skin and bones. One time I went by with one of our national pastors. “Look at their life,” he said to me with emotion. Though he sees this every day, he has not grown calloused to the poverty and human degradation. I could sense the pain he feels for them in his voice. Some of the Father’s most treasured positions, cast aside and forgotten, into the waste basket because some believe that they are not really needed. But the Father says: “Those are my children; the ones I really like. I thought you might like to love them too. You didn’t lose site of them, did you?” By God’s grace and with His help, I never want to over look anyone… especially the ‘least of these.’
I like the image of a ‘journey’ when thinking of my life as a follower of Jesus. Of course it’s not the perfect image, nor the only one –but it pictures for me an ongoing walk with the Savior. There’s ‘movement,’ as there is with the word ‘missional.’
That word: "missional" has become an important part of my vocabulary, especially as I think about my life as well as my responsibility within the Kingdom of God. But what does it mean? Is it just another ‘fad’ word? Maybe, for some. For me it is all about passion, purpose, and intentionality in faith; it struggles against stagnancy, lack of vision, and myopic faith. I found a helpful explanation of this word ‘missional’ on the Christianity Today website this week, in an article that describes the emerging church. One can be:
"…missional by participating, with God, in the redemptive work of God in this world. In essence, it joins with the apostle Paul in saying that God has given us "the ministry of reconciliation" (2 Cor. 5:18)."
"…missional by participating in the community where God’s redemptive work occurs. The church is the community through which God works and in which God manifests the credibility of the gospel."
"…missional (by) participating in the holistic redemptive work of God in this world. The Spirit groans, the creation groans, and we groan for the redemption of God (see Rom. 8:18-27). This holistic emphasis finds perfect expression in the ministry of Jesus, who went about doing good to bodies, spirits, families, and societies. He picked the marginalized up from the floor and put them back in their seats at the table; he attracted harlots and tax collectors; he made the lame walk and opened the ears of the deaf. He cared, in other words, not just about lost souls, but also about whole persons and whole societies."
I also personally understand ‘missional’ in terms of ‘presence’ and ’sentness.’ As I cultivate an awareness of being in Jesus’ presence, I also become aware of His heartbeat for my neighbors, for the community, for the city, for the world … and gain a compelling desire to do something in response.
