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Why Mission?
By admin | June 26, 2007
As I continue to work through Chris Wright’s superb book The Mission of God (an absolute must-read) I came to a great thought about the existence of mission in our world.
Let me set the context. The fundamental point the 2 chapters preceding this statement make is that the mission of the church lies in God’s fundamental desire to make himself known to all creation. That is, prior to any other consideration, the reason the people of God are missional is because God of the universe is missional.
So then, he comes to the place of briefly interacting with Piper’s famous lines from Let the Nations Be Glad, “Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn’t.” In this statement Wright is in full agreement. When the new creation is complete the current mission for which we are engaged will no longer exist. Though he, rightfully states, “who knows what mission God may have for redeemed humanity in the new creation!” (133-134)
And then Wright adds this wonderful paragraph.
But in another equally biblical sense we could say that mission exists because praise does. The praise of the church is what energizes and characterizes it for mission, and also serves as the constant reminder we so much need, that all our mission flows as obedient response to and participation in the prior mission of God - just as all our praise is in response to the prior reality and action of God. Praise is the proper and primary stance or mode of existence of the created order to its Creator. So inasmuch as our mission is a part of our creaturely response to our God, praise must be is primary mode. (134, emphasis mine)
What do you think?
Topics: Missional Movements |
June 26th, 2007 at 1:51 pm
Heck yes. That’s always made sense to me. I agree that we are to be missional - and always have been on a mission since the fall. But ultimately, I think the Scriptures show that we are worshippers. I know I’ve read authors that say that God gave humanity a mission before the fall, I’m thinking of John Eldredge, but I think that’s an inference from the idea that Satan had already fallen and we were born into a war zone. But then, when the enemy showed up, Adam and Eve didn’t seem to be too aware that the talking snake was a mortal enemy. I tend to view that period as innocence - a lack of awareness of the universal struggle. They might have known, I’ve just never seen it explained by God that way to them in the Scripture.
So I guess what that means practically to me is that I view the mission as worship. In other words, by living the mission I’m worshipping God. And so then who knows if there needs to be a mission for reedemed humanity? Or if there will be something for us that’s completely inconceivable by our minds at this time? I guess the question I’m asking is this - what will worship look like for redeemed humanity? And I dont’ think we’re given that information.
June 26th, 2007 at 2:02 pm
OK, so, I want to clarify my statements…haha, that was quick.
Of course humanity was given the mandate to reproduce, and that is a mission. I suppose I was thinking in the terms Eldredge put forth, and didn’t see the connection between fighting the forces of Satan and what happens in the first three chapters of Genesis.