What is missional living?
We are called to live on mission.
It’s something we say often without truly understanding what it means. It is simple, yet complex. It is profound, yet plain. Missional living is everyday. It’s persistent. It’s waking up and what is in front of you, has Jesus all over it and all in it.
In John 2, Jesus performs his first recorded miracle at a wedding. Everyone is celebrating, enjoying the moment, when the servants realize there isn't anymore wine. In this moment Jesus could have easily snapped his fingers and glasses could be clinking with wine. But he doesn't. He refrains. He’s intentional. He tells the servants at the party to fill up six stone water jars and bring the water to the headmaster.
Typically in that time, wine would have come from wineskins with water but Jesus chose stone water jars. Normally used for ceremonial washing amongst Jews. The bible says: each jar holds from twenty to thirty gallons of water.
That’s 120 to 180 gallons of water Jesus told the servants to fill.
Jesus is teaching us a lesson here. Not Jesus the miracle worker, but Jesus the human – the one who spent 30 years withholding his creativity and power to live on mission everyday like you and me. In order for the miracle to happen, He first requested the natural work of a servant's hand. This is the same in our own lives.
He is teaching us that our work, our rest, relationships, and moments are opportunities for miracles to happen once we are obedient in the mundane. It's everyday. The waking up and laying down. The eating and the drinking. The celebration and the conflict. All of it is an invitation to transform from the mundane to the missional.
To put it plainly, missional living is putting everything you do to purpose. It’s fighting the urge to believe the things we do mean nothing at all. One person sees what is normal as boring. The other sees it all as opportunity. One repeatedly prays for God to change it. The other prays for God to touch it. One tries to escape it, while the other embraces it.
The world has a way of making the things we do for God feel small. It's labeled as insignificant and we tend to forget its importance. Missional living is counter culture. It’s remembering that the wilderness is something to embrace. The annoying co-worker at your job? Something to embrace. The neighbor who’s constantly trying to talk to you? Something to embrace.
It’s where we live, eat, and work. It’s doing life with the people around you. It’s remembering that a conversation can change the course of someone’s life. Whether it's opening up your home, praying with a homeless person, talking with someone over coffee – God desires every part of our life to be missional.
So whether you're a creative, a pastor, an entrepreneur, or just an employee at your job, we have a collective calling – to live on mission with the Holy Spirit who guides and leads us through life. You might feel empowered. Maybe you're scared and anxious. Or maybe you’re excited. Maybe you feel them all at the same time.
If we can remember that everything in front of us, around us, and within us is an opportunity to glorify God and advance His purpose, we already win. We have all been called to live a missional life.
People need it. Culture needs it. The world needs it.
