The Great Commission: Mark 16:15 “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.”
It all boils down to this one thing, right? As Christians, ultimately, nothing matters more. It’s a pretty huge deal…
But we’re missing the mark. And a big reason why is also a surprising one.
The way most of us work towards this lofty goal is by putting Matthew 5:16 into practice: “Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
In essence, this verse is my go-to approach. However, I’m coming to realize a dark secret about myself. Being a light can become a dangerous excuse for not being something more.
How is that possible? We know the phrase, “actions speak louder than words.” Perfecting that score is, by itself, a big commitment, and it’s often the moments when we need our light to burn brightest that it’s most lacking. So we try harder.
But here’s the deal: Just Being “a light” is a CRUTCH – a kind of Christian “handicap”.
We’ve equated being good with being a witness. And the reason we do it is because it’s easier to keep our relationship with God at arm’s length from others. It’s personal, after all, right?
The problem is that actions with nary a word can fall short on the communication scale. Jesus asked us to “PREACH the gospel to all creation.” At its root, that requires words – words we so often avoid in the name of trying not to be too pushy, doubting our ability to be convincing, worrying we will make someone uncomfortable, thinking we don’t know enough. Wanting to not look foolish or feel embarrassed. We convince ourselves that setting an example is the “noble path” if only to avoid the harder task of actually opening our mouth.
But instead of comparing your ability with others who you think are much better equipped, consider this: Just ONE VERSE before the Great Commission in the Gospel of Mark, we learn something unexpected: (16:14) “Jesus appeared to the eleven as they were eating; He rebuked them for their lack of faith.”
Um, knock-knock, these are his apostles. His best friends. They saw it all. Heard it all. Time after time they witnessed mind-blowing miracles. Jesus predicted His death and resurrection on 3 occasions directly to them. Many of them WROTE THE BIBLE. And here He was standing right in front of them after they watched him die on that cross! If anyone should have faith in Jesus, it has got to be them. But they still missed the mark.
It’s remarkable, knowing all of this, that Jesus trusted these men to BEGIN the Great-est Commission. And then we read: (Mark 16:20) “The disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord WORKED WITH THEM and confirmed His word by the signs that accompanied it.” …And here we are today.
He trusts us, however undeserving we are. And His promise is that He will work with you and me too, even though we are lacking in faith, courage, words, knowledge, grace and much more.
We still have a job — right now. A very straight forward task: TELL people. Tell them about a God who knows them and loves them the same way He knows and loves you. Just talk to them about how you’ve experienced Him. Don’t worry about having all the answers, because He’s going to “work with you” just like He’s going to “work with them”.
Your light can be your voice. How BRIGHT can you make it?
Another great post, Heather! Thank you for this great reminder that he promises to work with us. Love you!
Excellent! I’m walking through a life-altering book/tool right now, and so I’m also reminded of the great commission according to Matthew’s account: Jesus commissions them to “Go and MAKE DISCIPLES…” Disciple makers who make disciple makers…to multiple generations! How exciting is that…affecting generations of doctors, lawyers, businessmen, moms, artists, scientists, and many more. How different our world would become if leaders in each of our career fields (and all domains of careers) saw the world through the lens of the Gospel and it affected the decisions/work we did! Let’s actively love people today & share our stories. Thankful for your blog and you!
Erica, that is really great insight. Please tell about this book! It sounds right up my alley. And if you call it life-altering, I better start reading it ASAP!
It is an interactive tool [book & online app] that can produce very intentional discipleship. It is in MY life! And it’s great to walk through with others…really the purpose of it. So I am about to invite 2 gals to join me for coffee once a week (but could even do bi-weekly) to journey with me. The book covers…Knowing God, the Grace of God, Hearing the Voice of God, Purpose/Passion/Giftedness, and many more truths from God’s Word. I’m not sure that either of my friends have ever learned some of these truths but they are curious So, we will read & watch the short clips on our own during the week and then discuss when we meet. The difference between this & a Bible study is that it is not just the knowledge; it is then for us to ask “What is the Holy Spirit showing me this week? And how can I be obedient?” The website is http://lionshare.org/our-resources/ . The tool is “A Discipleship Journey”. There is also a book called “The Jesus Blueprint” which is challenging and what I was referencing in my earlier post about Godly leadership in the domains of culture can only happen through disciple makers who make disciple makers. [Wish we could just talk! Too much to write.] 🙂
This sounds awesome. I will look into it too. How fun to do it with friends (especially friends that you can help to grow). Thank you for all of the information!!