"Missional" What is it?

I think in order to be missional we have to define the mission. So, what is the mission? Is the mission to evangelize, teach, preach....those are some of the more popular ones. I must say I have nothing against any of those three previously mentioned terms, but what happens is that we (including myself in a group of people), as "Christians", sometimes mistake our particular gift as "the mission". The Apostle Paul makes it very clear in his epistles that not one part of the body is more important than the other. In fact, he says that without love everything else is unacceptable. So, again I ask what is the mission that Christ asked us to carry out as his followers? To go make disciples of all nations? Ah, so how do we do this? Well some of us will teach, some will preach, some will evangelize...all of us will (or should) use the particular gifts that we have been given by our creator, but that's not how. Paul says, "If I speak the languages of men and of angels, but do not have love, I am a sounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so I can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I donate all my goods to the poor, and if I give my body to be burned, but do not have love, I gain nothing." So, one more time, what is the mission? How do we fulfill the great commission?

Love

Love is the mission. The mission is Love. Don't get me wrong, I'm not undermining the fact the we all need a Savior, The Savior, Jesus Christ, if anything I'm supporting it because there's no way we can accomplish this kind of love in and of ourselves, but I think sometimes we miss what Jesus is about or what "the Fathers business" is. Jesus calls himself "The Way", what is the way that he calls himself? The way of love, that is Jesus' way. Not dumb love, Jesus says at one point, "be wise as serpents and harmless as doves." As we interact with people and see where they need truth in there lives we don't just regurgitate the truth in their face...that's not harmless and its not love. That's actually kind of disgusting. Rather, we gently and craftily insert the truth with love. OK, so that was a little off the topic...kind of? As we love people and care for them and gently and lovingly speak the truth into their lives they will come closer to finding the Kingdom. This doesn't mean we aren't evangelizing, preaching, or teaching because we are, we are just doing it in "The Way" or the way the Father intended it to be. So, what is "missional".

Missional is living every second, every day, every conversation, every relationship in love. As we do this we come closer to the Father. As we do this we start to understand deeper the love that he has for us, the love that sent Jesus to the cross. The Father's love that is wrapped up in His grace and mercy. The peace that is found in the Father's grace and mercy. The unity that is found in the Father's grace and mercy. The joy, patience, long suffering, kindness, faith, gentleness, self-control that are all found in the Father's grace and mercy. Yes, love is found in grace and mercy. All the fruits of the Spirit stem from grace and mercy...that's the Father's love. Shouldn't it also be ours? Every interaction with every person that we have should be filled with love (grace and mercy). Those of us living life trying to strive for that, those of us bringing our bodies under strict discipline (as Paul puts it) do it so that the Father's love, which comes through Christ, may be spread to the utter most parts of the earth. That's being missional. That's living a missional life. Jesus was missional. Should we be also? You decide.