Missio Dei: WK1 - FRI
SENT THE SAME WAY
John 20:21 (NLT) “Again he said, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.’”
About ten years ago, a close friend of mine lost her husband very suddenly. He left behind two young children and as you can imagine, his wife was in pieces. Her sister, who lived on the other side of the world, got on a plane as quickly as she could. She came for the funeral with suitcases of clothes and grief for the loss her sister and nephews had suffered. Somewhere in the tumult of loss, she made a decision to do whatever she needed to do to help her nephews and her sister. So she stayed after the funeral, and a few weeks turned into months and then two years. She put her own life on hold, found remote work, moved into a spare room, and helped hold the family together through the worst of it. She didn’t try, and manage the situation from a distance instead she moved in.
That is the shape of John 20:21. Jesus does not just say go, no! He says go the same way I came. And the way he came was an incarnation. When we needed it the most, God did not address the our brokenness with an email, or text from a safe distance. He entered our world in very specific ways. At a specific time, in specific place, wearing a specific body. Jesus played, prayed, and ate. He got tired, he wept at a grave, he moved into the neighborhood. He was near.
And God sent Jesus among the poor and the sick and the disreputable. Jesus could have chosen to be in a position of authority but instead he chose a posture of service. He rejected the allure to demonstrate power over the world and instead demonstrated love for it. He ate at the wrong tables and touched people who had not been touched in years. That is the pattern he left for us in his life, and it is now ours to follow.
Crosswalk as you follow Jesus remember, we are not sent to manage people toward faith from a safe remove. We are sent to be present in people’s lives, to be close enough to be changed by them and not just helpful. The sister who stayed two years was changed by those two years. That is what incarnational presence costs. It is also what it looks like when the sending of God takes human form.
John 20:21 (NLT) “Again he said, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.’”
About ten years ago, a close friend of mine lost her husband very suddenly. He left behind two young children and as you can imagine, his wife was in pieces. Her sister, who lived on the other side of the world, got on a plane as quickly as she could. She came for the funeral with suitcases of clothes and grief for the loss her sister and nephews had suffered. Somewhere in the tumult of loss, she made a decision to do whatever she needed to do to help her nephews and her sister. So she stayed after the funeral, and a few weeks turned into months and then two years. She put her own life on hold, found remote work, moved into a spare room, and helped hold the family together through the worst of it. She didn’t try, and manage the situation from a distance instead she moved in.
That is the shape of John 20:21. Jesus does not just say go, no! He says go the same way I came. And the way he came was an incarnation. When we needed it the most, God did not address the our brokenness with an email, or text from a safe distance. He entered our world in very specific ways. At a specific time, in specific place, wearing a specific body. Jesus played, prayed, and ate. He got tired, he wept at a grave, he moved into the neighborhood. He was near.
And God sent Jesus among the poor and the sick and the disreputable. Jesus could have chosen to be in a position of authority but instead he chose a posture of service. He rejected the allure to demonstrate power over the world and instead demonstrated love for it. He ate at the wrong tables and touched people who had not been touched in years. That is the pattern he left for us in his life, and it is now ours to follow.
Crosswalk as you follow Jesus remember, we are not sent to manage people toward faith from a safe remove. We are sent to be present in people’s lives, to be close enough to be changed by them and not just helpful. The sister who stayed two years was changed by those two years. That is what incarnational presence costs. It is also what it looks like when the sending of God takes human form.
- Who in your life needs presence more than advice right now?
- What does it look like for you to “move in” relationally rather than remain at a safe distance?
- How might serving others change you personally?
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