We Are All Sent by Jesus

“Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” – John 20:21 HCSB

The word “send” is defined by Merriam-Webster as “to cause to go.”

As believers, we all have a calling on our lives. Some of us are called to be international workers (IWs). Others are called to be pastors or ministry leaders. Some live out their Christian calling in the secular workforce. Others do so as stay-at-home moms (or dads!). Not everyone’s calling looks the same. However, we are all sent by Jesus.

It’s so easy to see the call that IWs, pastors, and ministry leaders have. IWs are called to serve in other areas of world. Pastors are called to lead a congregation. Ministry leaders are called to shepherd a specific group of people.

However, lay people seem to have a hard time learning how to decipher their calling. What does it look like to live it out in the secular world? How do we do that?

Every day we go. We go to work, to school, to sporting events. We go to the park, or to the store. Sometimes we simply go out our door and walk around our neighborhood.

Being sent out into the world to do the work of the Father can be scary. But it doesn’t have to be. Here are some practical steps to start living out our call to be sent.

• Pray. Ask God to give you peace, mercy, wisdom, and grace as you go out your door.
• Look. Lift your eyes and look around. There are so many hurting hearts in the world today. We never know what people are going through. However, when we look them in the eyes we can see the pain, the loneliness, the sadness, the anger, and the heartbreak.
• Smile. Have you noticed that people don’t smile very much anymore? I have. It breaks my heart. Sometimes a simple smile can lift a sorrowful soul.
• Talk. You don’t have to strike up a long conversation right off the bat. Simply say hi. It makes a difference. When you smile and say hi to someone, they will usually return the gesture and ignite a conversation.
• Listen. Some people don’t have anyone they feel safe talking to. When God places them in your path, take the time to listen. They have a story and deserve to be heard.
• Share. Invite people to your home. Get to know them. Share your story with them. Share what God has brought you from, when you started following Him, and where He is working in your life now.
• Invest. Invest in the people that God has allowed you to cross paths with. Don’t try to fix them. They are not your project. They are your people, and they are worth investing in. Live life with them, teaching them the ways of the Lord.
• Love. Loving people is exactly what Jesus did and exactly what we are to do. We are to love because Christ first loved us.

This is by no means an exhaustive list. These postures always seem to work for me—but everyone is different, and everyone will have a unique way of living out their call. Survey your mission field and ask God to reveal His plan for your life. He is good and He is faithful. Wherever and whenever He sends us, He always equips us for the task.