Jesus' Mission Determines Our Mission

In Isaiah 49, we see a picture of the mission and purpose of Christ:

"Before I was born the Lord called me.... He made my mouth like a sharpened sword.... He made me into a polished arrow.... He said to me, "You are my servant...in whom I will display my splendor." 

(49:1a, 2a, 2b, 3)

Then, from 1 John 2:6 and a multitude of other New Testament passages, we are instructed that followers of Christ "must walk as Jesus did." The mission and motives of His life should very much inform, effect, and set the standard for the way we live our lives. So, judging by the serious tone of Jesus' mission written in Isaiah 49, we can rightly conclude that our mission on earth may not always be nice and pleasant and comfortable.

Just like Jesus, we each have a calling upon our lives that was planned long before the day of our conception (Ephesians 2:10, Psalm 139:16). According to scripture, that calling will involve earthly discomfort, losing our lives, and risking our reputation for His sake. He may ask us to speak up in circumstances when His truth will cut like a "sharpened sword" into the lives of those we care about. He may ask us to act as a weapon - a piercing, "polished arrow" - for Him in situations where we'll need take stands for certain things and against certain things. He clearly calls us to be His "servant."

Look at one more passage in Matthew 10:34-38 to get a feel for the seriousness of Jesus' mission:

"Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn 'a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. A man's enemies will be the members of his own household.' Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me."

If Jesus came to bring a sword, we too at times will need to employ the sword. If Jesus said that serving Him would at times require the forsaking of family relationships, we need to be prepared to sacrifice even our closest relationships for the sake of His glory. If Jesus said our discipleship would involve the carrying of a cross (a medieval instrument of torture), then we should expect discomfort at the least.

The severity and harshness of Jesus' earthly mission was meant to set an example for our earthly mission.
A followed example.
Ouch.