Most of the time, I think I have a pretty wide range of reading topics. But occasionally, I am reminded of how limited my range can be, and I find myself reading a book that I would never have even imagined I’d pursue. Let me explain.
I am currently working towards a Master of Arts in Christian Ministry in Strategic Leadership. So far, my classes have introduced me to reading material that would probably have come to my attention eventually. But there has been a book or two that I doubt I would have found if not for a professor recommending it or a class requiring it. That is the case with The Mission of God, by Christopher J. H. Wright.
The Bible is a narrative, telling the story of humanity and our relationship with God. In that overarching narrative, there are several threads that run through the pages of Scripture: sin and redemption, our need for a Savior in Jesus Christ, God’s glory, and judgment, just to name a few. And another is the theme of “mission.” What Wright proposes, however, is not simply that the Bible contains a basis for mission, but that there is a missional basis for the Bible. That seems a minor issue of semantics, but the difference is enormous, and holds some significant implications for humanity, and our role as Christians, partnering with God in his plan of redemption.
Often, we view the Old Testament as God’s plan for the Hebrew people, and the New Testament expands that to include Gentiles. In Wright’s estimation, that plan for all of mankind has been there all along, in both Testaments, and that he desires to use us in accomplishing that plan.
In order to understand this, we need to shift our perspective a bit. We need to read the Bible with a missional hermeneutic, and see how God has been working throughout history to draw people to himself. As Wright describes it, “mission is not just one of a list of things that the Bible happens to talk about, only a bit more urgently than some. The mission is, in that much-abused phrase, ‘what it’s all about’” (p. 22).
If that’s the case, we need to understand just what God’s mission is, and what role we are to play. And we need to jump in wholeheartedly, joining God in his plan to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10).
So far, I’m only a couple of hundred pages in, but what I have learned to this point has been very enlightening and encouraging. I’m excited to continue my way through this book, and gain a deeper understanding of God’s mission, and how I can participate.
If you’d like to purchase The Mission Of God, you can find it on Amazon.com. I suggest you add this book to your reading list, and see how God might impact your life through it.
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