As I looked through misty eyes in the rearview mirror, a flood of emotions and memories filled my head as my wife and I dropped off our oldest son, Caden, at college.
It seems like just yesterday there were midnight bottle feedings, T-ball games, and Barney birthdays. Then there was deer hunting, sunset shrimping, Grand Canyon walks, and Grand Slam trots. But a day at the lake changed everything.
It was on that day that Caden turned his life over to Jesus and I baptized him in front of his friends. I handed him over to my Heavenly Father, who gave him a mission that would require him to be sent.
I guess they were right. Eighteen years will fly by.
We serve a sending God. It is in His very nature. There is a messianic theme throughout the Bible, but it is coupled with a missional theme as well. God sent Noah into the Ark. He sent Abraham to a promised land. He sent Moses to Egypt. He sent David to face a giant. The Father sent His Son Jesus to redeem humanity. Throughout the Scripture, we see a God who sends and is willing to be sent Himself.
As fun as college is, it takes you out of your comfort zone. It puts you around people you may not otherwise engage. There are times that it is exhilarating, and other times that it is painful. Despite the ups and downs, you are there for one primary mission: a college degree.
The church is on a mission. It is not our mission, however. It is God’s mission. He is on mission to restore and redeem the world, and He gives us the great privilege to join Him in this mission. Christopher Wright puts it this way, “The church doesn’t have a mission; God’s mission has a church.”
It will require you to come out of your comfort zone. At times, it will be painful and will require sacrifice. You will engage a diversity of people that you otherwise would not have met. God’s mission requires you to be sent.
So where is God sending you that scares you to death? Who is He sending you to that will require great sacrifice? It is time for you to launch out of the nest, leave that safe and predictable life, and embrace one of adventure. The time could not be more urgent to be sent. “Live Sent!”