A Simple Question.

"If the Missio Dei is the central story of Scripture, why is it missing from our theology?"

This is another sound bite from class. No, it's not really a "simple" question. But still, it's one that every Christian should consider. Now, I guess I can't assume everybody would know what it is I'm talking about, so I'll give a little background. I mean, y'all aren't in class with me everyday.

Basically, the "Missio Dei" is, literally, the mission of God.

It is not merely something He does – it is the very nature of God. It is His interaction with humanity. It exudes from His being. It is the extension of His love to all people everywhere.

It is found in every page of the Bible. From beginning to end, God seeks to be glorified by making Himself known to all humanity.

And He has made Himself known. Every human who has ever lived has been given evidence of God's very existence through their surroundings. The other people, the animals, the plants, the stars, the sun, even the air we breathe show evidence of God's existence. We are all therefore without excuse. We cannot deny His existence. Yet that is not enough. General revelation (God's revealing Himself to all mankind through nature, etc.) makes every person, regardless of location or background, accountable to God. But just because we have all been given evidence of God does not mean that we have all been given the revelation necessary for salvation – the revelation of God's mercy and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our sins.

The responsibility of those who have been given this revelation, then, is to share with anybody and everybody. But this isn't a duty in the sense of the drudgery associated with work. Rather, it's an opportunity to respond in love and praise to the God who has called us to Him. Just as the Missio Dei is the nature of God and therefore it exudes from Him, so too we, as people seeking after the heart of God, should exude His love in all that we do. To participate in mission is to participate in God's love toward all people, everywhere. What a great opportunity! Yet so often we make missions an activity of the church, not the central pole on which all the aspects of ministry base. If missions is the central theme of who God is and how He has interacted with mankind throughout history, we, as the representatives of Christ on earth, should likewise make missions the central theme of who we are and what we do, both as individuals and as the church.

Hopefully I will be able to further develop this idea in future entries….so stay tuned.