The Missional Christian

And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!”

Romans 10:15

Yesterday I focused on what it means for a church to be missional. Today I’d like to get more personal. What would it mean for you and for me to be missional Christians?

As I explained yesterday, the word “missional” comes from a Latin root that means “to be sent.” Often we think of missionaries as the “sent people,” because the church sends them to some faraway place to extend the kingdom of God. But, in a very real sense, you and I have also been sent. We’re in the line of Christians who have been sent by Jesus through the Great Commission. Though we may never leave the place we live, God has “sent” us right where we are to do his work. Each and every Christian, including you, has been placed by God in this world to communicate in word and deed the good news of Jesus.

This means, among other things, that you have been “sent” by God to your workplace. You are there, not only to do your job, but also to represent Jesus Christ. This does not mean that you make a nuisance of yourself by preaching to your colleagues every day. It does mean that you are called to live out your faith in a way that draws people to God. Moreover, in the decisions you make, in the way you treat your colleagues, in the products you produce, and in a thousand other ways, you can live as a missional Christian, reflecting and extending the kingdom of God wherever you are.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: Do you think of yourself as sent by God to do his work? Why or why not? How might seeing yourself as a missional Christian change the way you see your workplace?

PRAYER: Dear Lord, in some ways it’s easier for me to think of the church as missional than to deal with my own missional calling. Yet, as a member of your church and as your disciple, I am part of your missional work. You have “sent” me to this place to represent you and to do your work.

Help me, Lord, to be faithful to my sending, whether I’m at work, or in the store, or talking with my neighbors, or . . . you name it. Even today, may I see my life and work differently because I know that you have sent me.

Finally, I thank you, Lord, for the privilege of being sent by you. What a high honor! What a high calling, indeed! Amen.

P.S. from Mark

If you’d like to learn more about what this notion of the missional church is all about, you may want to check out my online series: The Mission of God and the Missional Church.