Adisciple of Christ must learn to distinguish between his mission and his call. His mission is that of every Christian—spreading the good news of Jesus Christ everywhere; but his call is God’s appointment to a specific place at a specific time. The mission is general and fundamental, the call is specific and personal. My main responsibility in life is to be in mission for Jesus Christ; my main response in life is to fill that personal niche that God calls me to.
I may look at missionary work and say, “I’m not called to be a missionary.” Wrong! Every Christian is to be a missionary, that is, to be “in mission.” My particular function in mission may differ from someone else’s; but regardless of the function to which God calls us, we are all missionaries!
Sometimes I have heard wrong advice being handed out; “Don’t become a missionary unless God calls you to it.” Rather it should be: “You are a missionary because God has ordained all His children to be such.” But when it comes to my function in mission, then I should not intrude upon God, but wait until He tells me where and when to serve. That means that I can be a businessman or a doctor, teacher, carpenter, or whatever, and be in mission.
The basic issue in mission is not whether I am a foreign missionary, a home missionary, or a layman. It is whether or not I am willing to accept God’s mission as my mission. I must realize that it is where God is acting today. If I claim to know, love, and obey God, I cannot help being “in mission.” “The preaching of Jesus Christ … now is manifested, and … according to the commandment of the eternal God, has been made known to all the nations, leading to obedience of faith” (Romans 16:25– 26).
“And He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation” (Mark 16:15).
Daily with the King 