Day thirty six of The Purpose Driven Life begins the discussion of my fifth and final purpose, “made for a mission.” God is at work in the world and He wants me to join Him in doing this work. I am to have a ministry within the body of believers and a mission to the rest of the world as my service to unbelievers. Warren provides several reasons why my mission is important.
- My mission is a continuation of Jesus’ mission on earth. Jesus commissioned us to carry on the work He began – the work of taking the Good News to the rest of the world. To ignore this call is to be disobedient to Him.
- My mission is a wonderful privilege. It is a great privilege and responsibility to be used by God.
- Telling others how they can have eternal life is the greatest thing I can do for them. Telling people how they can find forgiveness, purpose, peace and eternal life is the best thing I can do for anyone. I need to tell them how they are hopelessly lost without Christ and share with them how He can find them.
- My mission has eternal significance. My mission has an eternal impact. The greatest thing I can do with my life is to share the Good News – nothing else will ever matter as much as this.
- My mission gives my life meaning. By living out my mission I can live my life for something that outlives it. The results of these activities will last forever.
- God’s timetable for history’s conclusion is connection to the completion of our commission. Jesus said that the end of the world will not come until the gospel has been preached in every nation. If I want Jesus to return sooner I need to focus on getting the Gospel out to every nation.
To fulfill my mission I need to abandon my own agenda for my life and accept God’s agenda. I need to make fulfilling my mission a top priority. Nothing matters more to God than lost people so I need to do all I can do fulfill this purpose for my life.
Bible Passages
Warren quotes the Bible twenty two times using seven translations and paraphrases. Generally he quotes accurate translations within the proper context.
Point to Ponder
Today’s point to ponder is “I was made for a mission.” It seems to me that the biggest result of Rick Warren’s writing, both in The Purpose Driven Life and The Purpose Driven Church is an intense focus on The Great Commission. Though it has always been regarded as important, I believe recently it has been seen as being of utmost importance. I guess it only makes sense to pay attention to the last words Jesus spoke before He left the earth. His last command to His disciples, and thus to the church, was that they were to spread the Gospel to the entire world. This command has been the driving force behind many evangelists and many missionaries.
It is my prayer that this commission will be a driving force in my life, that I will truly come to understand the importance of taking God’s Word to all the world. I pray that my life will be used to spread the Good News to those God puts in my path.
Up Next
Tomorrow’s topic is Sharing Your Life Message
