My Unique Mission in Life
Pastor’s Column
6th Sunday of Easter
May 6, 2018
It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you, and appointed you to go forth and bear fruit, fruit that will remain.
John 15:15
It may not always seem like it, but the Lord has chosen each of us for a unique vocation or mission. He has chosen us to be his followers and given us the gift of faith. There is a role in this world that only you can play; you are meant to make a difference in the lives of certain other people that will cross your path in the course of your life. If you do not fulfill your mission it will stay undone for all eternity. In short, we are called by the Lord to make a difference in the world of our daily, ordinary, normal existence.
Each of us has a vocation. A vocation is a call from God to be his follower in a certain place, in a certain time, with certain gifts, talents and responsibilities. Our vocation is to be Christ’s hands, arms, eyes, mouth and feet to those we encounter each day. Some are, of course, called to the priesthood or religious life, some to be married, others to be single; but all of us have a unique role to fill. We are now on the world stage, and for the brief moment of our lives on earth we are called to live in such a way that others are blessed by what we say and do.
Christ knew me before I was born. Even in my mother’s womb, he already knew my name. It is often humbling to realize how many lives would be different if you were not in the picture! We live out our great vocation as Christians – as Christ-bearers in the world, and we do this one person at a time. Each person I encounter is an opportunity to show love, or to practice patience, to listen, to forgive. At times the loving thing to do is to remain silent, to help, to heal, to share, or to cry with that person. Perhaps my role today was simply to be courteous to someone having a bad day. We may never know how our lives affect others, but God knows, and one day he will show us, and we will be flabbergasted!
We all have the same foundation for this vocation: love one another as I have loved you. My vocation, the special call God has given me today is to love in a concrete way those who cross my path on a daily basis and to go forth and bear fruit. Christ calls us friends, because he has shared with us everything that really matters in our lives. Each day, my vocation is to grow in love by sacrificing myself for the sake of others. The little kindnesses and thoughtful acts we practice change us more and more into the children of God, who love one another by word and by deed. Amid the busyness and distractions of life, God’s Word keeps us focused on our true mission, to love one another and make a difference, small or great, in the lives of others.
