Missions And Commissions
“For you are God’s workmanship created in
Christ Jesus to do good works which He prepared in advance for you to do.” Ephesians 2:10
During this time of year of
commencement, we are immersed with pride in the accomplishments of those who
have started an endeavor and completed it.
Life is full
of those goals where many have embarked on a mission to see its fruition
completely. Such was the story of the
first graduates to reach the moon.
In the early 1960’s, during one of President
John F. Kennedy’s thousand days in office, he had proclaimed that by the end of
the decade, the United States
would put a man on the moon. Those words would be the match that
would set the Space Program aflame to
fire. At that point, there was no cost
or effort too great, to see that goal come to fruition. After bids were put out, Rockwell
International received the contract and began to formulate the Apollo
Spacecraft that would travel to the moon.
The ship was intricately designed to travel
at a range of 2,000 to 12,000 mph hour (a little faster than I go down the 5
freeway) to reach the moon that was 250,000 miles away (in 2 days). It
would be built to withstand the greatest obstacles and climate factors. It also has the ability to shed certain
portions of the rocket in mid-flight as the approach toward the moon became
imminent. Finally, it would have to have
durability to travel in total, almost 1 million miles on it’s voyage. Maybe as important as anything, there was a
built-in radio system that enabled the flight team to communicate with Mission Control
(I’ve always wondered why I have trouble with my cell phone reception in the
next city and they could hear each other
clearly a quarter million miles away).
Finally, on July 16th,
1969, near the end of the decade, 3 men, all born in 1930 and 39 years old,
weighing 165 pounds and at an approximate height of 5’ 11” entered.
Their names were Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Buzz Aldrin. They would
climb aboard Apollo 11 and accomplish a feat that few would ever dream could
occur. The rest is history. The Eagle Landed on the moon. It was one small step for man and one giant
leap for mankind. They were safely
guided back into the Pacific Ocean some 800 miles southwest of Hawaii. Neil Armstrong would jokingly say that he
will go down in history as the worst driver, as he meant to land in the
Atlantic Ocean. Many believe the moon
landing is the greatest accomplishment still to this day… in science and
technology. When I think of that story,
I am reminded of your achievement (It is a small step in the scope of things
that God wants to do in you, but a giant leap toward greater things He will
perform).
Almost 2,000 years earlier, Jesus stood
on the Mount of Olives. Rather than igniting the space mission, He
launched an entirely different and more important commission. While Kennedy spent his 1,000 days in
offices, it was now at the end of his approximate 1,000 days in ministry or
about 3 ½ years with His disciples. In
that timeframe, Jesus
had poured His life into them as they would be His first graduating class.
There they stood in Acts 1
nervous that their Savior and Lord was leaving them alone.
You can imagine the emotions they were experiencing. The fear of what the future held; the worry about not having the tangible
presence of Christ with them. The
questioning of whether they had what it took. All of these things and more, surging through
their bodies. But Jesus reminded them
that it was time to release them to change the world. He said, “I have shaped you in these years
together.” He said, “You are being given the strength for the task.” He said,
“I will speak to you through the power of the Holy Spirit.” Finally, He said, “You
will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria and unto the uttermost
parts of the world.”
As we gather, congratulations brothers,
sisters, sons, daughters, fathers and mothers who graduate this time, never
forget that you have been commissioned by God for a task greater than any
business, political, or military end, but one from God Himself. Ephesians 2:10 says, “For you are God’s workmanship
created in Christ Jesus to do good works which He prepared in advance for you
to do.” We have been prepared and sent to change the lives of the
world. We are reminded that you have
been prepared by Christ, you have been given a mission, and you will complete
the mission Christ has called you to.
Reflections:
1) Do you sometimes forget that you are
God’s workmanship (Greek-Poem) called for His great purposes?
2) Who might He be sending you to touch
as you plan your day?
Consider reading the Word today:
Copyright 2014- Terry
Risser
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