Everything I know about missions I learned watching "Alias"

Vic Varis, Oregon Chi Alpha director

Well, not really...

But the other day I stepped into our living room. Every spot was filled by women of our Chi Alpha community house - even the pappa chair. Full attention was on the big screen and a young television 20-something named Sydney Bristow.

So what is it about "Alias" that captivates us so much?

What is it about a girl who starts her day in L.A. with a latte, by lunchtime is kicking the stuffing out of some guy in Berlin and after dinner is neutralizing the most heinous criminal since Hitler in Borneo - only to end her day home again as little Sydney in her dad's or boyfriend's arms?

After considering this a long time, I've concluded that much of the popularity of "Alias" reminds me of what I love about serving God in the Great Commission.

First, it's really fun to go out on secret missions!

We all love Sydney because her life is different, new and interesting. Because she's put herself in the hands of this elite group of spies and counterterrorists, she never knows where she'll end up on any given day. Every week we tune in to find out - it can be anywhere in the world!

There's an aspect of presenting ourselves to God that's like that. We never know where we'll end up or how quickly we might get there. In the past few years since Kathy and I stepped out to use our professional "alias" as educators, presenting the gospel in the context of a teachers HIV/AIDS outreach, we've been to more than 35 countries. Places like Mongolia, Papua New Guinea, Argentina and Belarus, just to name a few. In all those years of going out as God's agents, we can say our lives have never been boring!

Did you know it's been God's plan and design all along to send you and me out on missions? Writing to a young church in Ephesus, Paul explained why God reconciled us to him - "we are his workmanship, created in Christ to do good works [or to go out on cool missions], which he prepared in advance for us to do" (Ephesians 2:8-10).

That reminds me... a person sent out on missions by God is a mission - ary.

There's always more to the story, something bigger than we are that we don't know.

And we won't find out more unless we respond and step out into the unknown.

Nothing is what it seems on "Alias." There is always a grander scheme, a mystical plan, an agency behind the agency behind the secret SD6, behind the CIA. There's also something at work that is not bound by time and space - the Rambaldi Instrument, the mystical writings and prophecies, the cryptic mastermind or brotherhood. While always a little reluctant, Sydney never fails to take a chance, stepping out to discover if destiny is really at work.

Something in the fiction of "Alias" speaks to the spiritual center God places in us. We want the supernatural to be natural in our lives. We want to believe in spiritual destiny.

When you put yourself in God's hands to be sent on His missions to whomever, wherever and whenever He wants, you never know to whom you'll be talking, but I believe they will be people of influence. By the way, did I mention our ministry name Chi Alpha means "Christ's ambassadors" or "sent ones" - people or emissaries sent on missions? Ambassadors are usually sent to the influencers of society.

Every time we make ourselves available to go for God, we are amazed at the people we end up sharing with - a student who is son-in-law of a high official, a world-class nuclear scientist, ambassadors, a royal prince. The bottom line is that for every encounter there is always "the rest of the story." Once we respond to be sent, God has already moved people into place, arranging appointments with supernatural destiny.

How will you know unless you go? To be used by God, to see His supernatural be natural in your life, to experience how there can be something bigger at work in every encounter and mission you go on, you first have to respond.

Age and gender don't matter.

As a student or young graduate, we sometimes feel like life is a waiting game until we're old enough. Old enough to drive, old enough to vote, old enough to rent a car or have lower cost insurance, old enough to start our own lives with a family, home, etc. We sometimes believe and live as if youth is a liability in making a serious difference in the world.

We love "Alias" because here's a young woman who breaks all those barriers. In fact she makes it an asset. Her youth allows her the freedom to go anywhere and everywhere - she's unencumbered. She's a woman who can do just about anything. She's got skills.

One of the biggest lies out there is that you have to wait until you're older before God will use you. The truth is, God consistently, repeatedly challenges, speaks to, and uses young women and men. Check out Esther (who saved a race), David (the worshipper, warrior, king), Deborah (who led a nation into victory), Jeremiah (who heard God call him to speak to nations), Mark (who went all over southern Europe with Paul and Peter), and Timothy (who started churches everywhere). The Bible constantly speaks directly to us as students with examples of God's plans and intentions for us. Start keeping track of how much God says (and what) and how often He says it as you read the Word daily. You'll be amazed!

In fact, a special generation was prepared for a special purpose.

In "Alias," season one, Sydney discovers she was genetically engineered with a select generation with specific skills and for a specific purpose that would impact the entire world. At first she reacts against the idea of being different, but eventually she embraces it as destiny that she then uses to her advantage. We love "Alias" because it speaks to something inside our generation that confirms that we are people of destiny and purpose.

We are. Massive waves of students have gone before us, giving themselves to fulfill and serve God's purpose in their generation (Acts 13:36). In fact, the previous two great missions prayer movements were started by students who met to pray, give and go. What started with a few resulted in tens of thousands of young adults in their teens and 20s going to every corner of the globe. Because of them, powerful moves of God took place that history now calls Great Awakenings. Because of their investment, today Africa is nearly half Christian, as is South Korea. In Northern Asia there are probably more believers than in the United States!

As I talk with millenials today, students are sensing God saying, "Now is the time. You are the generation." You have been prepared by God for a special purpose.

Some things in life are worth the sacrifice.

You've got to hand it to Sydney Bristow. She's sacrificed a lot for her cause. She lost or gave up her fiancé, her best friend, her home, her reputation and her credibility (unjustly) several times. She has put on hold a life that the world around her would call normal. We're drawn to the example of her commitment and sacrifice.

At some point in her adventure, Sydney realized, It's not about me.

Some things are larger than having a big-bucks job and a house in the suburbs with a cat and the latest hybrid, mini or SUV. There are things worth putting your private dreams, personal pleasures and carefree freedoms on hold. Almost every advantage and opportunity we have today in life and missions is because many came before us, paying the price, making a sacrifice and sometimes giving their lives. They agreed with Sydney: It's not about us.

The passage that has made an impact on me for the past several years is one Paul shared: "He died for us that we should no longer live for ourselves, but for him who died for us" (2 Cor. 5:15, paraphrase).

It takes a bit of revelation to "get it."

It took Sydney awhile to really start to see the bigger picture. Sure she was a spy in the beginning, but she really didn't understand her part in the grand plan. She didn't realize for the longest time that she was a person of destiny. We all journeyed with her, and as she went deeper and deeper through all her trials and heartbreaks, something inside of us cried out, "Sydney, don't you get it? You are the key!"

The paradox is tough to grasp. While it isn't about us, still we're the key. God has a plan for you and me, but most of the time we're oblivious to it. Instead of asking God what He has in mind, we go off on autopilot to follow our own plan throughout life.

It takes revelation to understand. Paul said, "I'm praying that the eyes of your heart would be enlightened [that we'd have a revelation experience] to know the hope of his calling" (Ephesians 1:11,18-21).

When we finally get it, it's up to us to respond. What are you willing to do? Where are you willing to go? How much are you willing to give as you consider the gift God has given to you?

A young man finally started to get it. He wrote about the moment everything became clear to him. He saw God, and for the first time he heard His voice. The first words God spoke to Him weren't a command, but a question: "Is there anyone I can send? Will someone go for us?"

Finally he understood what his life was about, what God was about. It's not about us. It's about everyone who has never heard. His response to those first words in Isaiah chapter 6 were, "Here I am, I'll go."

What do you hear God saying to you and our generation? What are you willing to do? What are you willing to give? How are you going to pray? And where are you willing to go?