Mission and Worship

"Mission exists because worship does not."

-John Piper

I appreciated this apt quote. It takes a little thinking to even understand it.

Sometimes we forget that the entire purpose of mission and ministry is to help people see, experience, love, adore, honor and glorify God. If all creation honored their Creator and gave Him themselves, there would be no need for mission.

Consider this. There will come a time when mission work is complete. It will be no more. But, there will never be a time when worship is complete. Mission will end, worship will last forever.

Therefore, worship must be the end to which we aspire and perspire in our life. Mission is merely the means, the outworking of our worship to God. Any mission work whose intent is not ultimately the worship and glorification of God, is mission gone sadly awry.

Sometimes we think of mission as the most thing in our lives that matters to God. It is not. Mission will come to an end one day, but worship will not. Of course, to truly worship God. . .to see what God sees. . .to delight in what God delights . . .to go where God goes. . . compels and thrusts us into mission.

But, let us not mistake the means from the end.