In 2022, the American Psychological Association concluded that people who have a sense of meaning and purpose can cope more effectively with stress, recover more quickly despite setbacks, and maintain hope better through adversity. 

In 2021, a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association of over 13,000 adults found that people with a sense of purpose and mission in life are healthier and live longer.

And in the year 30, one Jesus of Nazareth said: “Yeah… no kidding!”

As you know, Jesus didn’t come here as a warrior king or as a Marvel superhero. He came to show us another way of living… the way of mission and purpose.

That way officially began when he gathered up the first apostles and I believe that there are four important lessons that his approach to this can teach us.

First, God’s call often begins in the ordinary.

Simon Peter and Andrew weren’t praying in the Temple and they weren’t on retreat. James and John weren’t scholars or even well educated.

They were very ordinary people doing very ordinary things.

Second, mission isn’t something we do… it’s something we become.

Jesus doesn’t say: “Follow me, and I’ll give you something to do.” He says: “Follow me, and I will make you into something brand new.”

Mission is not a job description. It’s a total makeover.

The disciples’ lives don’t become easier. They become meaningful.

And mission is not about doing more. It’s about becoming more.

Third, saying “yes” requires leaving something else behind.

Matthew tells us that the disciples “immediately” left their nets. James and John leave their father in the boat.

Their “nets” represent more than fishing gear. They represent security, identity, predictability.

To follow Jesus, they had to loosen their grip on what was most familiar to them.

Sometimes the nets we cling to are fear or comfort. Sometimes it’s the idea that our lives are too messy, too busy, too complicated for God to use. Or that we’re not smart enough, not committed enough, not brave enough… but Jesus doesn’t ask us to have everything figured out. Rather, he asks us to trust Him just enough in order to take the very first step.

And fourth, purpose unfolds as we walk with Jesus.

The disciples didn’t know where this journey might lead. They didn’t know about the Sermon on the Mount, the miracles, the cross, or the resurrection. They only knew who was calling them to another way of living.

Our purpose is not revealed all at once. It unfolds as we walk with Christ, step by step, choice by choice, moment by moment.

So, what does all this mean for you and I today?

It means that…

Jesus is here now… in the ordinary… in our everyday lives. That’s exactly where we can find him. 

He invites us to become something else, something new, and to live our lives in a different way.

He requires that we leave something behind… which begs the question: what must we leave behind and are we truly willing to?

And finally, we don’t have to have it all figured out, we don’t have to see way up the road to know that it’s the right one for us. We only need to trust Jesus. To walk that road with him.

Jesus encounters us along the shorelines of our lives… he enters into our routines, our responsibilities, our uncertainties… and says: “Follow me. Let me lead you into your mission and your purpose.”