Called to Mission

Luke 10:1–4

One of my favorite book series of all time is The Lord of the Rings. I first read the series when I was in middle school, and I have reread all three books at least a dozen times since then. Every time I return to the story, I am reminded why it has remained so meaningful to me. One of the things I love most about the story is how quickly ordinary life can become an extraordinary mission.

Frodo begins his journey living a remarkably comfortable life in the Shire. He has a home, good food, friends, and the simple pleasures of Hobbit life. He certainly isn't looking for an adventure that will take him across Middle Earth. He isn't dreaming about saving the world or becoming a hero. He is simply living his life. Then everything changes. Suddenly, Frodo and his companions are faced with a task far greater than anything they could have imagined. They must leave behind the safety and comfort of the Shire and carry the Ring toward Mordor. They know the journey will be difficult. They know there is danger ahead. They know they may not return. Yet they go because there is a greater mission before them.

That reminds me of Jesus' words in Luke 10. Jesus sends seventy two disciples ahead of him into the towns and villages where he intends to go. These were ordinary people who had been following Jesus. They weren't professional missionaries, famous religious leaders, or people who had everything figured out. They were disciples. Yet Jesus calls them to leave what is familiar and go into the world as his representatives. He tells them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few." Then he simply says, "Go on your way."

There is something powerful about that simple command. The disciples were being called out of the familiar and into the mission of God. They had to leave behind what was comfortable, trust Jesus, and go where they were sent. They didn't know everything that would happen along the way, and Jesus even warned them that the mission would not always be easy. Yet they went because they trusted the one who had called them.

That calling isn't limited to those first disciples. It is our calling too. Following Jesus is not simply about finding a comfortable place where we can sit and listen. It is not simply about coming to church, singing our songs, hearing a sermon, and then going home. We are called to mission. Jesus still sends his people into the world because there are people who need to hear good news, people who need hope, people who need to experience God's love, and people who simply need someone willing to show up.

Sometimes that mission takes us somewhere far away, but most often it begins right where we already are. It might mean reaching out to a neighbor, serving someone who is struggling, welcoming someone who feels like an outsider, sharing our faith with a friend, forgiving someone who has hurt us, or simply noticing the person everyone else has overlooked. Mission doesn't always look dramatic. Sometimes it looks like a conversation over coffee, a meal delivered to someone's home, a visit to someone who is lonely, or an invitation that helps someone discover that there really is a place for them.

I think one of the hardest parts of discipleship is being willing to leave our own version of the Shire. We like what is familiar. We like our routines, our schedules, our comfortable relationships, and the places where we know what to expect. But the gospel continually calls us beyond ourselves. Jesus calls us to look beyond our own comfort and toward the people and places where God is already at work.

Frodo and his companions didn't leave the Shire because they were looking for an adventure. They left because there was a greater purpose that required them to go. The disciples didn't go because they had everything figured out. They went because Jesus sent them. In the same way, we don't have to have everything figured out before we answer God's call. We don't have to be perfect, fearless, or completely prepared. We simply have to be willing to trust Jesus enough to take the next step.

So perhaps the question for us today is this: What comfort might God be asking you to leave behind so that you can join him in his mission? Maybe it is fear. Maybe it is complacency. Maybe it is the desire to stay comfortable. Maybe it is the assumption that someone else will do it. Whatever it is, Jesus is still calling his disciples to go.

The world doesn't need more comfortable Christians. It needs disciples who are willing to leave the Shire. It needs people who will step beyond their comfort zones and carry the love, grace, mercy, and hope of Jesus into places where those things are desperately needed. The harvest is still plentiful, and Jesus is still sending his people into the harvest.

The disciples went because Jesus called them. Frodo and his companions went because there was a greater mission before them. And we are called to go because there is a world around us that needs to know the love of Christ. The question is not whether God has a mission for us. The question is whether we are willing to leave our comfort behind and join him in it.

The harvest is plentiful. The mission is waiting. Will we leave behind our comfort and go save the world?

In God's grip,

Pastor Chuck Church