Remember, O Lord, in David’s favor, all the hardships he endured (Psalm 132:1)
Time is going to pass and our energy is going to run out whether or not we live missionally. Getting distracted and chasing fantasies will not put any more food on the table (Proverbs 12:11), and worrying too much will not add an hour to our lives (Luke 12:25). Therefore we need to keep aware of the value of the finite time we have on earth, as well as the limits of the energy we have, putting it to the best use we can.
Living missionally means to identify gifts God has given us – and these can change season to season – and to use those gifts to spur others on, looking at times of drudgery in the uphill journey of life as prime time to do good work, sharing the gospel with others through both example and words. While it’s true that God makes a way for us to ascend in life, indeed giving us the very breath in our lungs, it’s also true that progressing uphill takes effort and resolve.
The questions and answers in Christina Rossetti’s poem, “Up-Hill” may at first seem discouraging: the narrator is affirmed when they question whether the journey is uphill all the way to the end. However, the assurances that follow their later questions are profound, and those answers reminded me of the comforts of the gospel I personally experienced in arduous and chaotic seasons.
These assurances go a long way if we can take them to heart repeatedly throughout the adventure of life. They remind us no darkness can hide the home Jesus has prepared for us (Romans 8:38-39); they can free us from distraction and worry so that our time and energy can go instead to the mission God has put us on.
The word “mission,” may make us think of overseas missionary work. This is the mission of some. But the mission given to each of us in most seasons of life will probably be different from that, and at the same time similar. A call to mission could mean leaving one’s home country, or it could mean practicing excellence in one’s vocation in one’s home country, and discussing faith with colleagues. It could mean creating artwork or performing music in secular settings and sharing stories of why we worship God with our art when people inquire about what inspires us. It could be continuing to put in our best work even if our job is mundane, and praying with a discouraged coworker. Each of us has been placed in the exact spot we are currently in for a reason, often multiple reasons at once: God teaches us through the people he places us among, and he also puts people nearby who we have the opportunity to encourage in unique ways. Shared experiences and other connections give weight to the words we speak to them, and they to us. Iron sharpens iron (Proverbs 27:17).
Psalm 132 discusses David’s mission to build a temple for God; now God has made a way for all of us to be houses for his spirit, temples scattered yet specifically placed. As Paul wrote, “do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Our physical bodies, existing in finite time with finite energy, have been placed in this earthly existence to glorify God, mysteriously and profoundly. While easier said than done, let’s choose this way of life when we wake up in the morning – let’s remember we can choose to ascend with a mission!