L

et me ask you this question. Between you and the day, or the month, or the week or the year, who is the master and who is the slave? Think about it for a minute. You might think that I am being dramatic with my choice of words, but the fact is that [ictt-tweet-inline]the relationship between us and our lives is akin to that of a master and a slave.[/ictt-tweet-inline] In fact, one of the people who changed the world in their life time said, “I beat up my body and I make it my slave”. Now, hat’s a man on mission.

A slave is herded, shackled, at times beaten up, worked and driven and only kept alive to work the next day. The slave has no rights of their own. They cannot determine their destiny. They are not on mission. They are daily reminded that they cannot grow and their lives do not belong to them. They are reminded that they are there to be used and abused, to trade their breathe for toil and sweat that benefits someone else. They are aware of the predicament their children face—a future in slavery.

[ictt-tweet-inline]Look at your relationship with the times God has given you. Are you on mission?[/ictt-tweet-inline] Are you shackled by lack of vision and purpose? Are you driven by the ruthless task master of survival? Are you aware and confident about your growth and development? Are you excited about the security of your generations after you? Well, are you the master of your time or is it the other way round? Only you can know.

• You are a slave if you live each day without an agenda to FINISH something
• You are a slave if you possess no worthy goal or mission or vision in life
• You are a slave if you have no agenda, commitment and purpose for daily growth
• You are a slave if you take no time to think about the latter years

But you are a master if:

• You have an enduring passion, an obsession for which you daily devote your life
• You are organized and well planned, structuring your activities throughout the week
• You have the power to say “No” to tasks, invites, activities and events that do not contribute to your growth
• You are firmly in control of your growth and development, especially AFTER school.
• Each day, you live with a sense of Urgency and Mission, with the knowledge that the world requires of your expertise, contribution and passion.

I have some examples of guys whose view of life espouses this urgency I am talking about.

Unknown Zimbabwean Pastor:

I am part of the fellowship of the unashamed. I have the Holy Spirit Power. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won’t look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure .I am finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tame visions, mundane talking, chintzy giving, and dwarfed goals.

I no longer need pre-eminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits or popularity. I don’t have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded or rewarded. I now live by presence, learn by faith, love by patience, lift by prayer, and labor by power.

My pace is set, my gait is fast, my goal is Heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few, my Guide is reliable, my mission is clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, deterred, lured away, turned back, diluted, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity or meander in the maze of mediocrity.

I won’t give up, back up, let up, or shut up until I’ve preached up, prayed up, paid up, stored up, and stayed up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I must go until He returns, give until I drop, preach until all know, and work until He comes. And when He comes to get His own, He will have no problem recognizing me. My colors will be clear for “I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes”

Billy Sunday:

“Listen, I am against sin. I’ll kick it as long as I’ve got a foot, I’ll fight it as long as I’ve got a fist, I’ll butt it as long as I’ve got a head, and I’ll bite it as long as I’ve got a tooth. And when I’m old, fistless, footless, and toothless, I’ll gum it till I go home to glory and it goes home to perdition”

Martin Luther King Jnr.

“We are not faced with the fact that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history, there “is” such a thing as being too late. This is not time for apathy or complacency. This is a time for vigorous and positive action”

Urgency of Mission

Pause and think about what these men are saying. Can you notice the common denominator to each of these? They (and very many other more that we cannot highlight here), were men and women on Mission. Period.

Secondly, these men and women had these words that amaze me made personal to their cause. They were not rallying a company or an organization. They were speaking of themselves. Their own lives.

There is an old Christian song that comes to mind:

Give me one pure and holy passion

Give me one magnificent obsession

Give me one glorious ambition for my life…

What is that holy passion for you?

What is that magnificent obsession for you?

What is that glorious ambition for you?

I tell you, if you had these things in your life and heart, the sense of urgency will come naturally. You will not be the same again. Never waking up at the same hour, sitting in the same table of mockers and wishful thinkers. You will never stay down when defeated, or give up when no way seems available for you. You might never see a “bored” day in your life, and you will never be comfortable to waste a single minute in something unproductive.

Were the Rubber Meets the Road

• But look at our lives today.
• Where is the urgency to the things that matter?
• Where is the focus to the things that make humanity better each day?
• Where is the insistence on quality, excellence, passion and productivity?
• Where is the daily commitment to growth and personal development?
• Are we on mission today?
• Have we ever been on mission in the first place?
• What eats us up in the world that we need fixed?
• What makes us awake all night?
• What brings fury to our hearts?
• What makes us want to create a revolution?

Believe me, it will be nothing selfish. It will be nothing to do with all that we can get, but it will have to do with everything that we can give. Think about that.