go

Matthew 28



18 Jesus came and told his disciples,



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



19 Therefore, go into all the world 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."

Jesus said this to his disciples right before he went back to heaven.

I've always thought the operative word in this passage was “go”.

For some reason, we have developed this concept that that “go” means “go to deepest, darkest Africa as missionaries”, as if that was some punitive action on His part.

(Side note: Lynn spend almost 9 years in Kenya during the 1970's - Lynn & I would go to “deepest, darkest Africa” in a heartbeat if the Lord indicated to us to do that!)

“Go” can mean many things...

Talk to the person at work who needs Jesus the most (that usually means the most obnoxious one).

Share with people we live with or live around what being in relationship with Jesus is like.

Be a part of a group that reaches out to the low income / no income people of our town.

Be Christ like in our dealings with people who work at the stores we go to,

the restaurants we eat at,

the medical people we see frequently,

or the plethora of connections we have all over town.

And yes, it might mean we need to move somewhere to be more active in ministry to people...

that could mean somewhere else in the USA,

or somewhere else in the world.

The most important thing to grasp here is that being a follower of Jesus is an ACTIVE thing, not a PASSIVE life.

Jesus commands us to go to the people all around us, regardless of our location, & to tell them about Him & the connection we can have with God.

So... let's go! ;-)