It is easy to ask God to bless what we do. In fact, it’s so easy that sometimes I wonder how far out of step we are with God. Paul’s introduction to the Colossians puts things in a better perspective. “I, Paul, have been sent on special assignment by Christ as part of God’s master plan.” (Colossians 1:1, The Message). Three things stand out to me about this passage:
1. The Assignment – Paul understood that he was on a special assignment. It wasn’t a haphazard journey or a neat idea. It was an assignment. In a school setting, assignments are given with the expectation that they be completed. And that’s how Paul viewed his assignment. It wasn’t optional, up for vote, or random.
2. The Assigner – Jesus Christ assigned Paul the mission he was called to serve. It wasn’t something Paul made up. It wasn’t his latest, greatest idea. It wasn’t the pursuit of a self-serving agenda. Paul’s assignment was assigned by Christ
3. God’s Master Plan – The assignment imparted by Christ fit into a much bigger picture. Rather than Paul asking God to bless his plans, Christ invited Paul to participate in God’s master plan. His unique, God-given assignment wasn’t a stand-alone puzzle–it was one piece in the master puzzle created by God. The focus was God’s mission, not Paul’s. Paul was simply assigned a part to play in the work God was doing in the world.
Here’s the take-away I want you to grasp. Your mission is not your own, but it is meant to be owned. In other words, your mission is defined and assigned by God. It’s not your own in the sense that you didn’t make it up. It began with God’s ultimate mission. However, it must be owned. When the assignment is imparted to you by God, you have a responsibility to own the mission. In the same way Paul gave his life to the mission that God invited him to partake in, He has extended an invitation to you and I as well. So here’s the question…Are you on mission with God’s special master-planned assignment, or are you attempting to assign to God your own master plan to bless?
