Day 27 - Hitting "Send"

John 20:20-21 (ESV) - When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”

(READ JOHN 20)

The first text message ever sent was in 1992 by software engineer, Neil Papworth. The message simply read: “Merry Christmas.” Today over 8.9 trillion text messages are sent each year. This translates into 8.9 trillion taps of the SEND button on mobile devices, a behavior that has become an almost unconscious, daily habit of much of the human race.

In one of his post-resurrection appearances to his disciples, Jesus had something to say about “sending,” reiterating what he had said in his prayer in John 17: “Just as you sent me into the world, I also sent them into the world.”

Theologian David Bosch wrote that “mission is not primarily an activity of the church, but an attribute of God. God is a missionary God.”

God is a “sending” God. The word “mission” literally means “a sending.” Throughout biblical history, sending is a common theme as seen in the lives of Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Jonah, Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Nehemiah, John the Baptist, culminating in God sending Jesus. Jesus’ sending was unique and preeminent among all the other “sendings” in the Bible, yet is also a model for his followers: “As the Father has sent me, even so, I am sending you.” The manner of Jesus’ “sending” is to characterize his followers’ sending.

Incarnation (enfleshment) characterizes Jesus’ “sent-ness.” The incarnation is one of the great mysteries of the biblical story—that God would become flesh and dwell among us (Jn. 1:14). When God hit the SEND button, it was not a text, nor words put into binary code, but a life—the life of his Son, Jesus, who lived amidst a fallen, broken, sinful humanity. His very life and incarnation was a mission or “sent-ness” that embodied relationship, human touch, suffering, obedience, humility, proclamation, boldness, and dependence on God the Father.

Jesus was both messenger and message. He was sent, and sends us, as his mission continues. Mission is not just a task, but is at the core of one’s identity as a disciple. Followers of Jesus are sent into the world (as Jesus was) to live and proclaim the gospel life in a way that models the incarnation—wherever he sends us.

PONDER:  Where or to whom has God sent you today? Where or to whom might he be sending you in the future?

REFLECTION or DISCUSSION:
In John 20:21 we read about Jesus sending out his followers. Today God is still sending us out. Where each person is being sent looks different. Some of us are sent to faraway countries while others are sent into workplaces and schools. God is sending ALL AGES. He has a specific place where he wants each one of us to engage.
Read John 21:21. Where might God be sending you? Would he ask you to start talking to your friends? Take time and pray... ask God to help you understand where he might be sending you.