Pilgrim Soldier

Only recently did I fully start to grasp this area of the Church’s role. It’s not that I missed the teaching about making the world a better place, it’s more that I hadn’t grasped the significance of the task. For a long time I’ve had a passion against injustice and have wanted to make the world a better place for everyone, I just hadn’t put two and two together to fit it into God’s redemptive plan for creation.

Now the pieces have started to fall into place I firmly believe that, as Christians, we are called to share this aspect of the kingdom, not only for the individual but also for the world. This holistic mission is in reality the totality of Missio Dei and as such anything less than that is a failure on our part. It is this that we tend to miss when we put the emphasis on Evangelism or Social Action or Worship. Someone far more intelligent that me said something along the lines of “Evangelism is Mission, but Mission is not only Evangelism!”

My thoughts have come out of a wish to be authentic in my faith and to encourage authenticity in other Christian lives as well. I truly believe that the path to a deeper understanding of our mission is wrapped up in this authentic lifestyle. For me it is not enough that I reach the lost with the message of salvation. I want my faith to touch all areas of my life, my community and my planet.

So reflecting God’s Kingdom comes through my relationships (the area I find hardest if I am honest), through my interactions in society as a whole, through social justice, through caring for the environment, through spreading the gospel. Every single aspect of my life must be involved.

I know that many Christians have a life like this already, but I don’t think we all do. If we did surely the Church would be totally different. It wouldn’t be seeing an increasing number of people leaving, but instead would see more and more people coming.

Probably the most important thing though is that we cannot do this simply to make the church more attractive for people. This has to be done through a conviction that God’s way is the only way for a fallen world! It has to be done out of a genuine desire to follow Jesus’ teaching!