go!

Matthew 28:16 Then the eleven disciples left for Galilee, going to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go.

17 When they saw him, they worshiped him;

        but some of them doubted!


  18 Jesus came and told his disciples,

"I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.

19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations,

        baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you.

And be sure of this:

     I am with you always, even to the end of the age."



"but some of them doubted."

trust me, if I'd walked would Jesus for 3 years, seen Him killed, then see Him alive again, I think I'd be believing who He says He is.

But then, I think about the countless times He's come through for me over the years, & I still doubt He'll come through sometimes.

So, I guess I'm no better than those stupid disciples who still doubted Jesus was the Messiah, right before He ascended back to heaven.



I think the operative word in this passage is "go"

God tell ALL OF US to go...

Now this is a section we've all had used as a hammer by preachers, missionaries, & other speakers to hit us over the head & get us to go overseas a s missionaries.

And I think that there is a valid point that God may want some of us to do just that - go overseas as missionaries.

And usually the people He uses in ministry in that way are usually not the people we would pick to do that.

But God says go to all of us...

     that could mean going to the people we know at work, in the neighborhood, or in the places we shop, eat, or trade, & be who we are, & love them as followers of Jesus.

     that could mean that God may want us to move to another place - across town, or up the road, or somewhere else in the state, or in another locale in the USA.


And He may simply want us to move there & be who we are, love people as He loves them, & let our love for Him & from Him infect & influence their lives.


We so often forget that by just being who we are & letting God love people through us, we are fulfilling much of what Jesus was telling His disci0ples to be & do.


And what about the teaching part?

Well, most of what I've learned from people I didn't get from a teaching environment - I got it by watching their lives & being in relationship with them.


And what about the baptizing part?

Well, I believe in the priesthood of believers, so if someone decides to become a follower of Jesus because of your influence & life & want you to baptize them, well, why not?!



The big question, of course, in this passage is simple - are we willing to "go" - no matter what "go" may mean for us, individually.


The where of it, the being & doing part of it, the who part of it, the when, who, & how part of it will take care of itself.