Life is Mission
We’ve been talking a lot about engaging culture and being missional. I fear that some of us are wearing this calling like a burden, saddled with a narrow definition of culture – as if going to a bar or an art show is the only way to really engage the world around us. While we do need to move outside our usual circles of comfort, it's also true that mission is all around us. Engaging culture happens down the street, around the corner, in the front yard. It happens anytime we move outside of ‘cultural Christianity’ to truly love and serve people around us in the name of Christ.My wife is a stay-at-home mom, trying to raise and disciple 3 kids. If we’re trying to plant a church that’s hip to the down-towny arts scene, she’s not a prime player. But since Coram Deo is about engaging the culture where you are, even a mom at home with kids can live on mission.Yesterday she went to the park with another mom from Coram Deo. As they were watching the kids play, they noticed an Asian woman with her boys playing nearby. Since we’re in the process of adopting a baby from China, my wife struck up a conversation to find out where this woman was from. Turns out – you guessed it – she’s Chinese. She has 3 boys. Her husband works in research at the Med Center. And the prospect of adopting a Chinese baby girl provided a natural bridge for interaction. Could it be that a sovereign God is at work in this situation?No idea where this woman is spiritually. Maybe she’s atheistic, like most Chinese. Maybe she’s Mormon – she did live in Utah for a year! Maybe we’ll have a chance to bless this woman by talking about the gospel of Christ. But even if that’s a long time coming, she’ll bless us by helping us understand the Chinese culture a little more fully. We’re hoping that a friendship will be created, and that perhaps through that friendship, the gospel will travel.Life is mission. Don’t get sucked into thinking you have to do something drastically different. Just open your eyes to where you are, and start living intentionally!