Illustrating (Re)Alignment for Mission
The core message of Jesus was a call to realignment:
Continually realign yourselves for the Kingdom of heaven has broken into the world in me Matt 4:17
My family loves to hike. My wife and I grew up in Ohio. As a couple, we have sought out parks across the country to walk through the wilderness and experience the natural world first hand. Experienced hikers know that importance (and difficulty) of navigation through woods if one chooses to leave established trails. It is easy to get sidetracked, walk in circles, or otherwise lose one’s way in the woods. Even being off a few degrees in direction can put a hiker miles off course. Hikers know the necessity of checking their bearings with a compass or with a gps device (global positioning satellite technology) regularly. When we find ourselves off course, we make adjustments to our path in order to realign ourselves to desired point of arrival.
The life of faith is analogous to a hike through the woods. God has called God’s people in Jesus Christ to serve as God’s ambassadors to the world to share the Gospel’s good news about the possibility of personal salvation and societal renewal through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. But like a hike through unfamiliar territory, it is easy for individuals and communities to get off track from the purposes for which they were created. We must take care not to lose sight on the call and mission of God’s people in the world. Yet even under the best of circumstances, communities of faith and individual Christ followers need to (re)align with God’s work.
In what ways do I sense that my life and the life of my community of faith need to be realigned to God’s purposes?
Copyright 2008 Brian D. Russell
Highlights of Christian Carnival 230…
…
[...] Russell of the Real Meal Blog offers Illustrating Missional (Re)Alignment. This essay explores the need for Christ followers to realign continually with the mission of God [...]