If I say ‘Postman Pat’, I would guess that most of you would find that a certain tune starts to wander through your brain and you think wistfully of a man, with a rather oversized head, who spends his time driving round Greendale in his little red van with Jess his faithful black and white cat. If you have a problem, need a pair of helping hands or just a friendly face, or I guess some post, then you can rely on good old Postman Pat.
I wonder if you know who Peter Timms is? Well he is the vicar. You may remember that he spends most of his time standing outside of the church door watching as Pat drives past. Just in case you’re wondering yes, I do know that Postman Pat is not real life! But there has always been something interesting about the way that Pat is such an integral part of village life. He does his job but mostly he is just being himself, a friendly helpful (rather large) face, someone who can be relied on to be there.
So I wonder if I can ask, are you missional or do you do mission? There really is quite a big difference. It’s all about being or doing. Don’t get me wrong. I spend a lot of time planning, organising, programming and ultimately ‘doing’ mission, it’s part of my job to arrange and run a mission each year. People come wear a red T shirt, work hard, sleep on a church floor and ‘do’ mission, and it’s great. Locals get enthused and lives are touched with the message of Jesus; but if we are not careful we can end up ticking the mission box and then closing it up until the next project.
I want to be missional, to live life missionally, for it to be part of my DNA. I need to see interruptions to my day as opportunities and not inconveniences, to be watching out for those God moments.
But even more than that, to be living this life, believing that every moment counts; every attitude, every look, response, remark and reaction. As the old song goes ‘they are watching you, marking all you do hearing the things you say. Let them see the Saviour as he lives in you let his power control you every day’ (RT Bewes, 1964 from Youth Praise).
Talking of songs, I’m sorry if your brain is still humming ‘Postman Pat, Postman Pat, Postman Pat and his black and white cat…’ but it does make you think, what will people remember from their encounter with you today? Did they also encounter something of Jesus?
