Your mission should you choose to accept it…is a famous line from a famous movie series called Mission Impossible. If you have seen the movies, you know that the star faces impossible odds, but he pulls it off every time.
This bothers me because the name of the series is called “Mission Impossible.” There are 7 of them in the Tom Cruise versions. So how many times does he need to succeed on these impossible missions before changing the name to “Mission, probably likely”?
Life is a Mission
Missions are a part of life. If you are a gamer, you relish the missions you get put on. If you are an adventure seeker, you love the next mission you get to plan. But suppose you are like me and an introvert and loathe getting on roller coasters.
In that case, the kind of missions you like is, “Your mission if you choose to accept is to purchase a new TV for the family and to get the same size as your friends but to pay the least so you can husband flex on them when you are talking about how you got this at 65% off.” Ok, that is a long mission, and the tape would have disintegrated before it got to the end, but you get the picture.
God gave us a mission to preach the gospel. Somewhere along the line, we took that message to mean we must get everyone saved. It’s not our mission to save anyone. We couldn’t save people even if we wanted to. Our job is to tell people about the good news and let God handle the rest. To be honest, I am not one of those “he never met a stranger type.”
Chances are if I don’t have a reason to be talking to you, such as we work together, live next to each other, or grew up together, we probably won’t be having an extended conversation. I don’t want to be that way, but I get so anxious just having small talk with other people, let alone discussing their eternal soul. I don’t want to come across as a holy nutcase. However, deep inside, I know it is important to tell others about Christ.
Read: Holy Spirit and Men: Turning The World Upside Down
It took me a long time to stop leaning on my own understanding and to trust in God. Some people would debate me and try to poke holes in all the bible stories and what God wants us to do. How am I supposed to answer when someone hits me with the “Well, if God is all-loving, why does he let so much suffering happen?” I’m usually like, “Dude, we are in line at Wendy’s. How did we get here?” After a while, I just started telling my story.
About how I was a sinner, and I decided to take a chance on Jesus and see what it was about and have not regretted it since. Sure, I don’t know it all, but I know what he did for me and how he saved my life. After a while, I started realizing that is all God wants. All God wants is all you got. After I told my story, God will work on them. I don’t feel like I did not reach that person because they blew me off. After all, it’s not my mission to save that person. That would be a literal impossible mission.
Sometimes I wish I could be like Ethan Hunt in the Mission Impossible movies and have one of those fake faces with the voice synthesizer. I could become TD Jakes or Steven Furtick and convert the whole Wendy’s with one powerful speech. That is when I fail miserably. I try to complete someone else’s mission. Be who God wants you to be. Let his light guide you. Pray and ask for wisdom and guidance. He will help you.
The beautiful part is God’s message never self-destructs. If you forget or seem lost, go back, re-read his message and try again. We fall down, but we get up. We get multiple chances to complete the mission. Things didn’t go right yesterday, and today is a new day. When it comes to God, it is more like “Mission Definitely.”
Prescott Williamson is a Bible-believing Christian. He is a husband, a father, and someone who believes that there is a little humor to be found in whatever situation God sends your way. He was born in the small islands of the Bahamas but now lives in the Suburbs of Fort Worth Texas, which is basically the same thing. He enjoys TV, reading, blogging and serving in his church (especially on the days they serve donuts). You can see what I have been thinking about lately on my blog www.prescottascoolbreeze.com.
