11 - Which Missions Matter?

The most driven, passionate, or “called” among us often strive to start big missions, movements, businesses, and organizations.

Big missions aren’t new to humanity.

Sometimes these missions start from seeing an injustice that you feel passionate enough about to want to rectify. Some missions are born from personal heartache and wanting no one else to experience that same level of pain. Others rise from the conglomeration of cultural and societal divisions. There are certainly plenty more I could reference and ones you’re likely thinking of too.

But if you don’t see yourself as someone who could start a big mission, you might be tempted to think those who do are more special, talented, or significant than you in some way.

I want to speak to you. The one who thinks the only worthy mission is a big, audacious, world changing mission.

I want you to know that you have a big and powerful and worthy mission field each and every day.

This deeply important mission and cause is in your home with the children you’re stewarding. It’s at your place of work and the colleagues, management, and customers you interact with on a daily basis. It’s during your day when you’re grabbing lunch and the simple interaction you have with the one serving you.

I’m thinking of Kevin Hines whose story I recently heard on the Megyn Kelly show. Hines attempted suicide by jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge when he was 19 years old and, against all odds, survived the fall.

He went on to describe that moments before he leapt off the bridge, a woman approached him. 

He saw a smile on her face and thought she was going to ask if he was okay. He was preparing to tell her everything and had planned to beg her to save him, because as he describes it, he couldn’t save himself.

But when she approached, she pulled out a camera, and asked him, “will you take my picture?” When she left, he said “he told himself the greatest lie any of us have ever told” and that lie was “absolutely no one cares.” 

I wonder how many Kevins I have passed by and not truly seen. How many encounters have I had with people and not taken the time to offer a smile, a kind word out of nowhere, or even approach out of just being in my routine and oblivious. 

My mission field is right in front of me in my home, in my community, and in the encounters with strangers every day. 

In today’s viral world of social media where we see incredible things being built by those we see as more articulate, intelligent, resourced, and skilled - we dismiss the missions we have at hand. 

We see our own missions as less worthy because it seems like it seems to impact so few compared to someone else’s mission that appears to impact so many.

Again, I think of the parable of the talents and how one man buried the one talent he was given out of fear. (Matthew 25:14)

I’ve been that man many times. Burying what God has given me out of a belief that it doesn’t matter and honestly a bit upset that GOd didn’t give me more to work with and that I’m not skilled enough to make the “one thing” he gave me, fruitful enough to mean much.

I’ll link the Kevin Hines interview here, and it’s a worthwhile listen. Because, in a world full of hurting people, you do have a worthy and significant mission. First in your own home, and then beyond. 

No matter my own personal mission that I may currently be inspired and passionate to create and no matter how much impact comes of it, I want to be more intentional to steward the seemingly “small” missions too. The ones I may never know the impact of by the text, hug, smile, or intentional interaction I have with those around me.

Because, truth be told, I think we will see on the other side of heaven, what “small” missions in the end, were our biggest missions of all.