I
began an offering meditation for my church during Missions Emphasis month by asking
everyone in the audience to stand. I told everyone who had been born right there
in our county to sit down. More than 90% remained standing. Then, everyone who
was born elsewhere in our state was told to sit. A few more sat. Next, if they
were born in any other state in the US they could sit. In our multi-cultural
community, that left a lot of people still on their feet. My point? We don’t
have to go far to reach the world because the world has come to us.
It
seems that we have been slightly off the mark in how we have been interpreting
Jesus’ final command. A more accurate translation, some say, would be, “As you
go . . .” rather than the imperative, “Go.” Another version (Young’s Literal
Translation) renders it, “Having gone, then, disciple all nations.”
To
tie these two points together, I say this: We are commanded to go and teach. Jesus
didn’t say how far to go or where to go or how long to stay. “As you go”
implies that you teach about Jesus as you live your life. It isn’t a matter of
some of us being “goers” while others are “teachers.” We are commanded to be
both – in our place in the world. Some people are called to leave home and
everything familiar to spread the gospel in another part of the world. But if
we all “got up and went,” we would be milling around aimlessly and there would
be no one to provide the financial support we need.
You
may not be called to be a missionary in a foreign land, but you are still under
orders. How can you obey Jesus’
command to go, teach, baptize, and teach while leading the life that God has
called you to? Ask yourself: am I going as far as I can? If the answer is yes,
then ask yourself this: What am I doing to help others to go?*
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