Are You "On Mission"?

When some of my friends get together who have shared the “One Year to Live” weekend retreat we ask about each other’s mission. What is your mission? And what percent of your time since we last met have you been “on mission?”

So what is a mission? Remember the old television series, “Mission Impossible”? Peter Graves played the team leader. Each week he got a message about a mission (a tape message that would automatically destroy itself after being played!). It gave Peter Graves a mission – always a tough, almost impossible) mission. In the mission message was always the qualification, “should you accept this mission…” meaning that he could say no to. Of course, he never did. Graves always accepted the mission and always completed it! Wouldn’t that be nice if life was so easy? But if we never thought about what our mission in life was would we ever be able to accomplish the things we thought are important in life? Would we then just muddle through our years? Many folks do.

Think about these three mission questions: WHO are you? WHY do you exist? HOW are you going to live this life? This is identity, mission, and action! And when it comes to a life-mission, you do have a choice as to whether or not you are going to identify your mission in life and whether or not you will work to make life happen the way you wish it would. Because a lot about mission is about vision – a vision for your future. In the wisdom literature of the Psalms it is written: “without vision, the people perish.”

Think about WHO you are. Your identity. Is it as a father, mother, spouse, friend, a beloved child of God, a person with a positive self-concept?

WHY you exist. Your vision. Is it to do good in the world, to love family, friends and neighbors, to make a difference, to be a loving parent, a good spouse, a faithful friend?

HOW you are going to live this life. Your actions. Is it to maintain a life-long, loving marriage, strong personal relationships, a successful life at work, helping others whenever you have the opportunity?

Almost every successful human endeavor has a mission. I think individuals need them, too. What is your mission in life? Is it worth reflecting on and taking some time to develop? Is it worth reviewing from time to time? Is it worth sharing with the most important people in your life so that you keep on task – on mission and are living with integrity?

Maybe one way to start is to identify the three to five most important things you value in your life – things you deeply and strongly hold in the core of your being. Write them down. Now ponder them and then write down the things you are actually doing to make these important values real in your life. We may say we want to be wealthy, healthy, have a happy marriage, raise loving and successful children and so forth. But when we look at what we are actively DOING – where are spending our time and money – the actions we are living don’t seem to fit with the values we say are important.

So here’s an action plan: Draw up your own mission statement. Then invite one or two or your closest friends to talk about what they see as their mission in life. Ask them to join you in writing out a mission statement and sharing it regarding WHO they are, WHY they exist, and HOW they are living this life. Then meet again and share these statements with one another and then honestly look for the “beef”: where you all are spending your time and money.

I can assure you that it will be time well spent. And if your spouse is not in that “close friend” group, include him or her by sharing what you have written. Then give it the test. Ask your best friend: Do the things I am doing support that values that I say are important to me?

Good luck – and don’t forget to put some prayer into this – pray for honesty, insight, and, yes, courage!