Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20
"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Acts 1:8
These are verses that a lot of people use relating to mission trips. Rightly so, Jesus did tell us to go and make disciples of all nations (to the ends of the earth). For the longest time, I thought that was all I had to do. I was good with God if I did that. No matter that the community I lived in was living in darkness, there we people across the ocean who needed saving. And, I was going to do it!
Overseas missions are important. Necessary. If God calls you, GO! However, God did not call us to wait on His call and do nothing in the meantime.
I'm not going to pretend to be an expert on Biblical languages, but I did hear one such person state that the 'go' in the Matthew passage above translates as 'as you go'. As you go about your everyday routine. As you work. As you shop for groceries. As you play soccer. As you live. As you ____, make disciples. We can do this because Jesus has all authority in heaven and earth, and he commands us to make disciples. Thankfully, he will always be with us as we go.
The verse from Acts ties into the 'as you go'. Jesus told them to first make disciples where they were-- Jerusalem. Making disciples radiates from where you are-- not where you want to be. Not where you dream to be. Where.You.Are.
Christians have a high calling on their (our) lives. We're not any better than anyone else, but we are saved from God's wrath to His love by His Son Jesus. So, why not show and tell the world (your community) what He's done for you?
What does 'as you go' look like for you?
3 comments:
I think you hit the nail on the head. As you are going, make disciples. Like a to-go order at McDonalds.
I think the biggest problem with society today is that the Church has fallen down on the job. If people would simply give 10% like the Bible says to give, we would have no need for government programs like Social Security and welfare. There would be no end to what the Church could do.
Jesus didn't say, "Oh, if you have some extra time, and if it's not too much of an inconvenience..." Jesus said go and do. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote, "When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die." We have no choice. Christ gave his life, and he expects us to give ours as well.
I love what Keith Green says on this verse: "You don't have to wait to be called, you're already called!" At that point, it's just a matter of finding the right place to go, or at least what's not the wrong place to go.
love that quote!
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