In the opening lines of the old war movie Apocalypse Now, a soldier is seen waking up in his hotel room struck by the realization that it’s the beginning of another day without a military assignment. He shouts in great frustration, “Every day without mission I grow weaker; every day the enemy crouches in the bush, he grows stronger!”
Mission is central to remaining strong in the face of adversity. Every day without it we grow weaker. And every day we lose sense of mission, our enemy grows stronger. There is something about mission that propels us forward no matter what the cost…
No doubt it was incredibly difficult for Christ and the Father to go through the excruciating experience of the cross. It was His MISSION to love mankind that carried Him through. The writer of Hebrews says that Christ endured the cross for the joy set before Him – the joy of reconciliation between God and man.
Everyone who has ever been married and is honest can talk about the difficulties they have experienced. There are any number of things that can contribute to the challenging times in marriage. There are also a number of important factors for healing. One of them is simply the ability to persevere…and perhaps the greatest help to perseverance is MISSION. If we keep sight of mission, we will be strengthened to withstand most anything.
All too often, however, we become very narrow minded and without realizing it, our mission in marriage is simply to be happy. If our spouse is doing something we don’t like, we set out to change them. If we succeed, mission accomplished, and we are happy. If we fail, we’re angry and want out. Something’s wrong with this picture. We have lost sight of true mission. And what is that?
In Ephesians chapter 5 Paul speaks of a significant part of our mission in marriage. Our relationship to our spouse is to be a picture to the world of Christ’s relationship to us. Do you care about your neighbors, your co-workers, your friends? The greatest thing you can share with them is Christ. And one of the most compelling ways of sharing Christ with them is through your marriage. Do you love your children? The greatest legacy you can leave them is a strong and life giving relationship with Jesus Christ. Perhaps the best way to increase their thirst for Christ and convince them of His importance in their lives is to model it in your marriage.
During a dinner meal with my wife, we struck up a conversation with our waiter and discovered his family lives in Bethlehem! He shared about his business here in our country and I shared about mine. Upon doing so, he was quite puzzled about my doing marriage and family counseling. He shared with us that in his country they didn’t have such a thing. Whenever a husband and wife struggled with their relationship, they would simply spend time with an older couple to learn how to have a successful marriage. I had to explain how that rarely happens in our country – most get a divorce, some seek counsel. I couldn’t help but think how sad.
We’ve lost sight of the mission! We must grasp the bigger picture when we are struggling with each other. It’s not just about me, or even us – it’s about the world around us. It’s about our own children and the generations after us. Our mission is to show them the Way. Our mission is to live the Way so they will take hope in our increasingly hopeless world.
We must decide today we will not lose sight of the true mission. We will do whatever it takes to illustrate Jesus Christ and His love for us through our marriages. If you don’t know how – GET HELP! Join a small group whose focus is marriage. Read some good books together on the subject. Ask an older couple you respect to spend time with you and show you their secrets. Set aside some time and money to spend with a Christian marriage counselor to become all you can in Christ as a couple. I tell the couples I counsel that I have the greatest respect in the world for people who are willing to invest in their marriage to make it great. I can’t think of a better Christmas gift to give each other and your children than to renew and strengthen your marriage – can you?
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