ON FOCUS
By Sansu Garin
I remember one lazy summer way back, a
small troop of kids, myself included, had a mission.
Armed with tin pails or small sacks, we went around our
neighborhood, looking for metal scraps, nails and any commercial
junk. No stones were left unturned or backyards and deserted lots
spared in our search. Why, you might ask. It was simply a
demonstration of the law of supply and demand. Recycling business
was just flourishing and scrap buyers were constantly making house
calls in our area.
It was a grimy and tiring adventure,
but what fun it was! Amidst our bonding was the petty bickering,
but the main thing was our big bounty of every scrap that can be
sold! And the proceeds we got (it was such a pittance
though that I can’t even remember now how much it was!) made us
feel important for earning something from our sweat and
enterprising efforts. I’m sure we endeared ourselves to our
consenting parents not only for the clean sweep of neighborhood
junk but also for the signs of budding entrepreneurs in
us!
For several times
more, these jaunts were repeated until there was none left to take.
I recall at one point, I was already eyeing with interest
a canful of new nails in our house . It was time to stop! We also
grew tired.
Experience is certainly a good teacher. Recalling this episode in my youth stirred my thoughts on how to live my mission now as an adult. It also helped me make sense of what my father once told me. I asked him one time if he would allow me to be a missionary in far-off foreign lands. “You don’t have to go far to do what you have to do,” was his reply.
It’s true! Fulfilling our mission as Christian disciples does not have to entail packing up our things and going to a distant place. Some people are especially called that way. Most of us are not. But we are all bound to respond to and carry out our mission of witnessing to GOD’s love wherever we are.
For a start, it could be just within our families or in our neighborhoods, just like my childhood scavenging mission. We could do it individually or, even better, as a group, a community. But most of the similarities end here.
Because our true mission will not run out of targets. There are so many people who need to know about GOD. There’s a rich harvest out there waiting for us.
Our reward too will not merely be a pittance. Remember what our Lord Jesus said in the Parable of the Lost Sheep (Luke15:4-7) about how much rejoicing there is in Heaven over one lost soul saved? That’s just for one soul. Imagine, it can be so much more!
And our mission does not stop. It lasts our lifetime! Yes, we will grow tired. But let’s keep going, holding on to GODs promise in Isaiah 40:31“Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and never tire.”
Want to go from rags to riches? Fulfill your mission!