Anyways, I would like to share a thought that preoccupied my mind during my time in New York City:
My time spent in New York would be called a "vacation." We shopped, laughed, we had a merry ole time. It was a wonderful time of love and family. At one point on the Subway I realized something. What was the difference between my "mission" trip to Haiti and my "vacation" to New York. Both places consisted of people that could be reached for the Kingdom of God. Both had devastation. Both had numerous opportunities for serving God. So why did I not use my time in New York as an opportunity to reach people? The only difference between my two trips were their label. My "mission" trip was the only thing made for "mission" work. "Vacations" are for yourself. Clearly I had missed something.
As a Christian, our whole lives are called to God's mission. We are to "deny [ourselves] and take up [our] crosses daily" (Luke 9:23). That is wholly surrendering and dedicating our lives to God and his mission for our lives. A mission, as defined in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is "a task or job that someone is given to do." In the Bible, our mission is stated pretty clearly. Jesus states we are to "go into ALL the world and preach the gospel to the WHOLE creation" (Mark 16:15).
The two verses cited above do not say do what makes you happy then serve God. No, they do not. They say that we are supposed to surrender everything, give up our lives, give up our hearts, and live completely for Him, no matter the cost.
New York is in the world. Haiti is in the world. Oxford is in the world as well. Everywhere we go, no matter where we live, is a playing field for God's great Kingdom. And I'm not just preaching to a choir here. Most of the things I write about are things that I feel like I must work on indefinitely. I need constant reminders that this life is not about me. It's not about my success, my relationships, or my status. This life is about how I live for my awesome God. It's about how I show the world how great He is. To praise Him, to glorify His name, to spread the Good News of all He has done for me. So as I go into this freshman year at Ole Miss, I will strive to remember what my real mission is. The one that matters in the end.
Kristen
