Therefore, Go…
2000 years ago this meant something obvious and explicit. Matthew records in the 28th chapter of his Gospel account Jesus saying this,
“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 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, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
“Therefore, go,” He said. To those hearing it at the time, it meant traveling as far as they possibly could, into dangerous territory, to proclaim that a new Kingdom was being birthed. The first disciples of Jesus risked life and limb to take a message of hope across the known world. Almost every single person who would have heard that command first-hand, lost their life trying to do exactly what Jesus said.
But, what does “go” mean in 2016? What does it mean in Miamisburg, Ohio? What does it mean for the stay-at-home mom or dad? What does it mean for the business professional? What does it mean when you have a mortgage? What does it mean when you have a family to provide for or a job to go to?
When the ask is not as obvious, it’s not enough for us to relegate radical following of Jesus to the first followers. We can’t simply give up on obedience to Jesus simply because we have more to lose. But we must answer the question; how do I go?
There is no question that we must do something, but what we will do will take a different shape for us than it did the first followers of Jesus. It was a different time, a different economy, and there were simply less opportunities back then.
For the first followers, less opportunities and a more volatile context created a clarity of action. Go meant physically go. Throw everything you have into this single thing, no matter the cost.
Today, it means the same thing, throw everything you have into this single thing no matter the cost. But, we get to be more creative in our approach. Our throwing everything in doesn’t mean throwing everything out. We get to strategize and use our resources to take the message further than ever before, faster than ever.
So we go to Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Medium (or whatever social network you’re investing in) with a message of hope. We use our computers, phones, cars, houses, net worth, and business for the sake of Jesus and his Kingdom. We raise our families and take care of our kids with Jesus as the absolute first priority. We open our homes to break bread and study scripture. Yes, we have more to lose, which should simply mean that we have more to use in the mission of making disciples. In “whatever” you do, Paul says in Philippians 3, do it for the sake and mission of Jesus.
So, what does go mean in 2016? Well, the exciting thing is you get the freedom to figure that out. The difficult part is that it is no longer a direct and obvious response. But, the mission is the same, and the foundation is a single-minded pursuit of Jesus and his kingdom. Everything we have and do is supplemental and meant to accomplish this end;
“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, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.
What has it meant for you? Leave a response below.
