Oct 9, 2023
If a tree had a mission, what would it be? Take carbon dioxide
and turn it into oxygen? Provide relaxing shade in the scorching
hot days of summer? Paint their leaves stunning colors in the fall
for everyone to enjoy? Provide material for that beautiful coffee
table in your living room? These are all wonderful benefits of a
tree, however you couldn't, with confidence say that any of those
things is a tree's primary mission. So what is a tree's
mission? One
word: multiplication.
Every tree has this singular mission of reproducing, not just
one tree, but literally hundreds of other trees. Even before a tree
is completely mature and full grown it is sending out acorns,
helicopter seeds, walnuts and apples to spread seeds with the hope
that some of them find a place to germinate and begin to put roots
down into the ground. It's not just trees that posses this mission,
every single living organism God created was wired with
the mission of multiplication.
Is it possible that the mission of the Christian is the same?
No, this isn't a call for bigger families and more mini-vans!
(Though there is obviously nothing wrong with that.) It's really a
challenge for each Christian to consider what the true mission of a
Jesus follower is really all about.
For the typical Christian, the main mission they focus on is
maturity. Again, nothing wrong with maturity! It's good to grow in
knowledge of Scripture, develop spiritual disciplines and find
ministries in which one can serve. However that's not the mission.
Jesus gave his people a co-mission, to go and make
disciples; to multiply. His disciples took this mission
seriously and you and I are eternally grateful that they did!
However, it wasn't just their mission...it's ours as well.
As the apostle Paul wraps up his letter to the church in Colossae
he invites them to participate with him in the mission of
multiplication. Here's the powerful truth we are going to unpack on
Sunday: As you live on mission, the more you will
mature. For a lot of Christians, they have found that
their faith has plateaued or even begun to stagnate. Could it be
that what is missing isn't another Bible study but a
commitment to the mission of multiplication?
To learn more and discover the apostle Paul's strategy for how to
live a life on mission, make sure and listen to the conclusion of
the sermon series, Rooted.