Missio Dei

At the New Conspirators Conference, I was privy to a conversation with a guy who was really struggling with the weight of so many issues. He was worrying about the war in Iraq, the election of our President, the cost of his job, reaching the poor. This list was endless. His desire to be missional was literally leading him to despair. And to a certain extent I could feel his weight. The tension was clearly evident. And he was struggling with how to solve all these issues.

I know that feeling. I want to be missional. I want to change the political injustices of the world, environmental issues like the over abundance of plastic and electronic waste, obesity, human slave trafficking, real work for those who want it, crack babies, 3rd world dictators who oppress their own people, fair trade for poor farmers, Aids babies, and the rising cost of health care.

And the temptation is to want to solve…every problem. Things press on us. They shout at our face…NOTICE ME. It’s hard not to want to notice, to give real issues our time and attention. I’ve often thought of throwing it all to the wind and serving as a missionary in a war torn country. I’ve actually looked into work for NGO’s and positions at the UN. But ultimately I didn’t feel called.

And as I stood there listening to my friend, I began to wonder if Jesus was somehow taking a weight from us when he said, “Love your neighbor.” What if we needed the reminder that we’re not called to solve every problem. We can’t. He’s simply asking us to love right where we’re at, to bring love to those we are already in relationship with. These are the people we are most likely to bring restoration to. These are the people we are most likely to touch in a significant way.

What if we’re not called to solve all the worlds problems? Just the ones that we’re called to. And they live right next door.