Read Gen 1:1-2:3; Gen 3:1-24; Exo 19:3-6
Since the beginning of history (and even before), God has had one, unified, overriding purpose for all he does: to glorify himself. This is only right; after all, God is the single most worthy, glorious, “worship-able” Being who has ever existed. So God’s creation of all things (including humans) was to glorify himself, in creating a universe, world, and humanity that would worship, serve, and glorify him. God is glorified in his creation and kingdom when his creation and his people reflect his beauty, worth, and radiance to the world; God is glorified when his creation and his people submit themselves to his rightful rule, in all aspects of their lives. This is the image and likeness of God we’re created to be. So in creation, God was essentially building a kingdom – an unimaginable, incomprehensible, all-encompassing kingdom of stars and galaxies, animals and vegetation, mountains and oceans, angels and humans. And over this vast kingdom, God rightly established himself as King of kings and Lord of all (Gen 1:1-2:3).
This is God’s creation; this is God’s kingdom. But this is also the beginning of God’s mission. Even in these beginning scenes of God’s kingdom, creation’s ability to reflect God was contaminated; God’s rightful reign was violated. In Genesis 3, Satan ushers into the world a counterfeit reality; a false “counter-kingdom.” And in these first acts of sin, God’s kingdom becomes distorted. For the first time, there is hostility between earth and man; there is pain and death; there is shame and lying; there is separation between God and man; man is sent out from God’s perfect habitat (Gen 3:1-24). BUT… from the center of this dark, bleak scene, God’s heart shines bright. At this tragic moment, for the first time, his mission is seen in fullness: in the first sin of mankind; in the great rift of creation, God begins to rescue his people, and restore them to himself, and establish his eternal reign.
This mission started small. God clothed Adam and Eve as he sent them from the garden – he covered their shame with the skins of a slaughtered animal (Gen 3:21; does that sound like foreshadowing at all?!). If that action wasn’t clear enough, God even told Eve of his eternal plan for salvation and the fulfillment of his mission: in the middle of pronouncing the serpent’s punishment, God told it, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise [crush] your head, and you shall bruise his heel” (3:15). From that moment, mission is seen as the eternal mission of God. He saved and protected Cain (Gen 4); he rescued Noah and his family (Gen 5-10); he stopped humankind from glorifying ourselves (Gen 11). And in Genesis 12, a heathen idol-worshipper is redeemed by God, given the name Abraham, and becomes the father of a great nation of God’s chosen people. The rest of Genesis unfolds as God blesses and increases the number of his people; his growing kingdom.
But God’s mission didn’t stop with Israel. Indeed, as early as Exodus 19, God reveals his eternal mission beyond those who were already his own. In fact, those who were already God’s people were chosen by God, to carry out his mission to other peoples and nations! Israel was unique among the nations, but was “holy” – they were a people set apart for God’s purposes. And what were God’s purposes? To be a blessing and to be ministers to others! To redeem people; to reconcile creation; to restore the rightful reign of God as King! Isaiah 11 echoes this call on Israel, as does Psalm 67. But just as God’s mission didn’t see fulfillment or completion with Israel, neither was it finished in the Old Testament. Jesus ushered in its full reality, and then gave to his followers – the Church – the responsibility and honor of participating in his mission.
First Peter 2:9-10 says it like this: “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” That’s what this week is. It’s not just about doing a few nice things for people; it’s not just a one-week event that you get to “do,” then return to “real life.” You are on mission! You are participating in something bigger, grander, more glorious, and more purposeful than any of us can imagine. You’re participating in God’s purpose for you, and in God’s purpose for mankind. You’re glorifying him by putting aside yourself and living for him; you’re worshipping with your life; you’re participating in the restoration, redemption, and reconciliation of God’s creation and people. You’re doing your part in God’s eternal purpose. You’re living for God’s glory and mission.
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