It’s the phrase in the header of this blog. And it’s pregnant with profundity. But, just like a post-modern jury, it all depends how you look at it.
The here-and-now
On the one hand, it could be alluding to something of a “how-to” of family life on mission. That is, acknowledging the missional capacity of family — marriage, parenthood, and childhood. Each sphere of family life needs to be set on mission for the gospel. Just as much, each sphere of family life needs to be abiding in the family of the triune God. That is what is meant by the phrase.
The meta sense
Not this Trinity
For those of you who wear your v-necks low and shop at co-ops, you may read the phrase to be a little more meta. And in fact, it is. Superseding the empirically tangible family, is the reality of the proto-family: the Father, Son, and Spirit make up the family of God. Through the gospel, the Father adopts new individuals into the familia Dei. Such is “Family in the Life of the Trinity”. Where the “missional” comes in is when we recognize that this meta-adoption is perhaps the most profound missional practice in the universe. It contains every aspect of missional, lauded by the vast diversity of the so-called “missional movement”: overflows in organic love, engages with “culture”, suffers, seeks justice, redemptiveness, and promotes hope.
One reality
Missional family in the life of the Trinity, is a synthesis of the two senses. Because of the meta-reality of the Father’s adoption of sinners through the Son, moms and dads on mission will adopt children without parents into their family. Because God’s adopted children are called to make disciples, moms and dads on mission will train and comission their children to share the gospel, too.
I’m curious how this all sounds to you. Make sense? Are you single? Divorced? Infertile? Cold and distant family? How does this affect you?
