Vision // Mission

Institutions, companies, organizations, mission organizations, and churches have mission and vision statements. I find the distinction between them confusing, perhaps because I am a simpleton. But my favorite mission statement comes from a hospital in Manila for the blind.

“Our mission is your vision.”

That’s clever! They have one goal – bring vision back to the blind, if possible.

After spending a night healing many people, Jesus must have had a brief nap.

“As the day began, he went to a deserted place, but that crowd sought him, came to him, and forbid him from going from them.” (Luke 4:42)

We can accuse them of selfishness, but most likely, they were needy and knew the power of the Lord to heal them, chase demons away from them, and bring them into God’s rule. They wanted him to stay with them.

He said to them,

“I must preach the good news of God’s rule in other places since I was sent for that purpose.” (Luke 4:43)

Jesus had one mission/vision – to bring the good news of God's sovereignty over people's lives. With that mission/vision, he went to other villages, towns, and cities and proclaimed in the synagogues of the Hebrews that God’s rule had come (Luke 4:44).

His preaching of the good news of God’s rule always involved the healing of the physical, mental, social, and spiritual ill health of the people. Otherwise, his preaching would have been the same as other teachers of the law, i.e., without authority and power.

Years ago, I struggled with the concept that my teaching and preaching never brought healing. Then a friend reminded me that I was thinking only of physical healing. He was right; God can use each of us to bring emotional, social, mental, and spiritual healing to people, along with physical. Each person is gifted differently. Since that day, I have always asked God before I preached or taught, “Lord, use my teaching/preaching to heal someone – for them to see God ruling over their lives.” People feel as if their lives are uncontrolled and unmanageable. To such people, we give hope that God is still in control of their lives. That brings them emotional, mental, spiritual, social, and spiritual healing.

In short, our vision/mission must align with the Lord’s – to give the good news that God controls one’s life, even when it looks chaotic.