The title for my blog is a paraphrase from the pledge to the Flag of the United States of America: “One Nation indivisible…” One of the themes circulating in my mind recently is the idea that we have one mission from God not two or three. I have been thinking about the Micah 6:8 passage that teaches what God requires of us: to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God.
Dr. Thom Wolf calls this God’s Life Syllabus. The Syllabus has three parts: Justice, Mercy, and Humility (Faithfulness). Wolf calls the trilogy Hope, Love, and Faith (See Matthew 23:23). The point is that there are three parts to the syllabus. The parts are not optional. Using an agricultural metaphor, Wolf says the syllabus can be thought of Weeds (Justice), Deeds (Mercy), and Seeds (Faithfulness). When we pull weeds we overturn injustice and bring hope. When we do deeds we demonstrate God’s love in a tangible way. When we plant seeds we point to faith. It takes Conviction to take a stand against injustice; it takes Compassion to do deeds for our neighbor; and it takes Courage to share the good news of the faith. At Buckner we internalize the syllabus and call it Conviction, Compassion, and Courage. The syllabus can be laid out as follows:
| Justice |
Mercy | Humility |
| Hope | Love | Faith (Faithfulness) |
| Weeds | Deeds | Seeds |
| Conviction | Compassion | Courage |
My point in all of this is to say Jesus followers are responsible for all three parts of the syllabus, even though we may specialize in one area or the other. Some of us or some organizations may feel more passionate about justice issues; some of us or some organizations may be more focused on mercy ministry or social ministry; some of us or some ministries may be more focused on evangelism, disciple-making, and church planting.
William Carey (1761-1834) understood this when he went to India. “He did not go there to plant churches or set up medical clinics for the poor. He was driven by a more comprehensive vision – a vision for discipling a nation…including restoring all that was broken through the Fall…Carey introduced the Linean system of plant organizations and published the first science texts in India; he created the idea of savings bank in India to fight the evil of usury; he campaigned for the humane treatment of lepers; he established the first newspaper ever printed in any Oriental language; he translated the Bible into 40 languages; he was the first man to stand against the ruthless murders and widespread oppression of women; he had a wholistic ministry and impact on India. He followed the pattern of Jesus’ ministry: preaching, teaching, and healing (Matthew 4:23).
(See Scott Allen, William Carey: A Missionary Who Transformed a Nation in Mission Frontiers: The Bulletin of the U.S. Center for World Mission, Vol. 33, No. 5, September-October 2011, pages 15-18).
God’s mission is indivisible but we seem to be fragmented in our approaches. Some of us are focused on weeds, others on deeds, and others on seeds. Some of us have a dual focus of weeds and deeds; weeds and seeds, or deeds and seeds. What would it take for us to embrace the whole mission and gain a vision for transforming a nation?
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