Mission. Invasion. Conflict. Those are not words of comfort. But mission, invasion, and conflict benefit and define every believer. Don’t think so?
Mission – Jesus had a mission. He came to seek and to save those who are lost. He came so they might have life and have it abundantly. His mission was to perfectly represent His loving Father to a world of sinful, uncaring people. His mission required something else.
Invasion – The word means forcefully coming into an area, territory, or country occupied by an enemy. Jesus invaded the earth! The fallen world is the domain of sin. The evil one is its ruler and heaven’s enemy. Jesus came from heaven, the place where Holiness abides. Was Jesus’ mission easy?
Conflict – Jesus was sent, but was not favorably received. He was tempted in all the ways we are tempted. Yet, His temptation was beyond what we experience. The Father sets a limit on our temptations. We cannot be tempted beyond what we can endure and the Father promises to make a way of escape. We have no reason to believe Jesus faced a limited tempter. The full fury of hell was released against Him. He suffered conflict to accomplish His mission.
Engage The Mission
Jesus’ mission wasn’t just planetary invasion. Think about your life. It was once the enemy’s domain. Then Jesus invaded your heart with amazing grace and captivated you with eternal love. That is true of every believer. But before you can realize the full benefit of what He did for you, conflict must be endured.
The reason is Jesus gave His mission to you and me. We are now charged with invading the enemy’s territory and freeing sin’s captives. The necessary power is ours according to Ephesians 6:10. The problem is the enemy fights back! His weapons aren’t the normal sort. He uses doubt, fear, laziness, indifference, and prejudice. But we can overcome them.
To be about the Lord’s mission is to deal with conflict. Instead of whining when we experience conflict. we ought to be encouraged by it. It tells us we have the enemy’s attention and are therefore engaged in our mission. Think about it!
Just to help, the slideshare below is a good one. Some of the graphics are a bit over the top, but you’ll enjoy it!
Soli Deo Gloria!
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