The Mission of God

"In Him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth." Ephesians 1:7-10

Our small group just finished Ephesians as part of our through-the-whole-Bible-outline-each-book study. I was blessed to sit under the teaching of my husband, who has studied the book before. And how could I not be rocked by it when Andrew was standing in the kitchen explaining that God's eternal purpose for His glory was to raise Christ up from the death of this world and give Him victory over the powers of evil and rule over the Church which he raised up with Himself from the death she is trapped in? And what do the members of the church do in light of this cosmic victory they live in? They are patient, they speak kind words, they serve each other. 

Paul says, "When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ , which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the Gospel." Eph. 3:4-6

Basically, the mystery of God's plan that we didn't know for a long time has been revealed in this book! God's mission is this: To save sinners, and not just Israel, for His glory, through Christ. 

And what's even more challenging is the the response that Paul calls for in light of this truth. To live like Christ. To imitate Him as I am a wife, an employee, a sister, a friend. Live a changed life in this age in this world. And love what God loves.

Smedly just preached a series of sermons on what Grace Bible Church believes missions should include. There were four distinctives that missions should be:

- Doxological (about God's glory)

- Christological (about Christ)

- Eccesological (about the church)

- Global (to the ends of the earth)

Sound strikingly similar to a certain book in the Bible that contains the plan of God established before the foundation of the earth?

The mission of God, Ephesians, Grace Bible's missions vision, and me being a wife and a nurse in Tempe Arizona. It's like one of those shots in a movie where you zoom in from a view of planet Earth all the way down to my apartment. But the way I live in this apartment, sitting on this couch are a response to and a part of the very mission that God has for this creation. (Zoom back out)

I get to be a part of a mission of God. I get to align myself with His divine intentions. How? Love His glory. Love His gospel. Love the salvation of sinners. And live those things out.

Sometimes I have a difficult time wanting to go in to work, wanting to seek reconciliation with Andrew quickly, wanting to invest in other people. Sometime these things seem pretty small, and inconsequential. Praise God, each little thing is a part of a really huge thing, that defines what I am doing here in this life. Seeing the big-ness of the little parts of my life helps me to praise God for them and take them head on, for the sake of the mission of God.