The Great Commission and YOU

So I'm going to call you out. Yep, you. What does The Great Commission mean to you? You might be asking yourself, "what even is The Great Commission?" So let me fill you in: 

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

Where does your mind go when you read that? 

Something I've noticed within my time with the Body of Christ, which hasn't been an extremely long time, is how overlooked this passage is. We toss it around and acknowledge how admirable it is, but when was the last time you took a look at this passage and took a look at your life? Let me pose this question:

Are you discipling anyone? 

No, this does not mean, "are you a pastor?", "are you working in direct ministry?", or "are you leading a small group?"   I'm talking about, are you taking time to teach someone else in the ways Christ has taught you to be more like Him? Just sitting down, having coffee or a meal, or going for a walk, or whatever and talking about life and becoming more like Jesus?

It's that simple my friends. Any believer can disciple someone, there was not a sub-clause, no verse 20.5 that said, "... everything I have commanded you. Since you are all ministers, pastors, missionaries, and small-group leaders"  Jesus was incredibly intentional here in speaking to all of us. We are ALL called to do go out and make disciples.

So let's talk about the cop-outs I know you give yourself and others undoubtedly allow you to believe, I believe they all stem from these 3:

1. You're too busy - Hey, let's talk for a sec about busyness. I know you're busy, I'm busy too, we are all busy. But grab someone and bring them along with you to what you're doing.  I can't tell you how many awesome conversations I've had driving in the car with someone, or going grocery shopping, or cooking dinner. All stuff I was going to do anyway, but brought someone along with me. That's what it's about, my friends. Living life with someone, bringing them into the things you were going to do anyway.

2. You're under-qualified -  This is just a lie. Seriously, stop believing this. I know this held me back almost the whole first year of beginning my own ministry, without my Young Life leader by my side coaching me. It's just not true. If you're regularly spending time with Jesus, attending a church, growing more Christlike yourself, if you remember nothing else from this blog, remember this: YOU have something to offer someone.  I promise you that. Whether it's that you know a ton about the Bible or you've just lived a lot of life. You have wisdom to offer. Quit listening to the lies keeping you back from understanding one of the most important callings placed on your life. Wouldn't that be awesome for Satan if he could fill us with insecurities and keep us from living the life we're meant to for Jesus? If you're buying into this lie, he is winning.

3. It's going to be hard - You freakin' bet it's going to be hard! I'm not even going to try to downplay it. It's going to take some sacrifice, it's rarely going to come easy, it sometimes is extremely awkward, and it'll stretch you thinner than you ever thought imaginable. But you won't break. There aren't words that could accurately portray how amazing leading someone to Christ is, hearing their first prayer, walking with them through the awesome mountain top times in life and the deepest darkest valleys; and the coolest part, is when they get it. When that person decides it's time for them to answer the calling to go and make disciples themselves. Nothing I could ever say accurately describes how amazing that feels.  

And that's why I'm writing this, not to make anyone feel less than, but to tell you to go all in. Experience what God has waiting for you when you answer His calling to GO. 

I promise you, you will never regret answering that call. So what are you waiting for?

xoxo

Brea