The Great Commission part 2
Sometimes I almost think this is where we get stuck on something like the Great Commission--well, let me quote it again so I can show rather than tell. "Then the eleven disciples left for Galilee, going to the mointain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him--but some of them doubted! Jesus came and told his disciples, "I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and othe Son and the Holy Spirit. 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"" (Matthew 28:16-20). I think it's that tiny word "go" that gets us. And, to be honest, I can have a little resistance to that word. I'm a bit of a homebody. As I once famously told my sister, "My favorite outdoor activity is going from one indoor to another." I don't necessarily like to go places or do things. I really like the Mother Teresa quote that says, "If you want to change the world, go home and love your family." That makes sense to me. That's something I'm comfortable with. Now, let me say this: Thank God for the internet. As I sit here, I am, in a sense, going into all the world. Or at least a pretty large part of it. Even when I was preaching in a physical building every Sunday morning I wasn't reaching as many people as I do with Words Without Walls Ministry. Between my daily blog and my podcast... I'm going! I'm baptizing (again, immersing)! I'm spreading the gospel. And, on top of that, when I love people I'm work I'm plowing my mission field. When I'm driving and I let someone over with a smile and a wave... I'm putting love out there. That's our goal, guys. That's what we've been commissioned to do--put love out there. Let the love that is inside us come out. Simply by knowing and believing that it's in there. Simply by letting God love the hell out of us so that we can love the hell out of each other. And it really is that simple--give what you've got. Receive and release the love that you've been given. Don't worry about if people have earned it or not, or "deserve" it or not. Deserve has nothing to do with it. You don't have to be a physical world traveller to go and make disciples of all the nations. What you need to do... is whatever you can do. Maybe I can't reach the nations, but maybe someone I can reach... will. Some plant, some water, but it is GOD who gets the harvest. So what I'm trying to say is, don't psyche yourself out. Don't look at the Great Commission as TOO great, or too big. Don't think what you do DOESN'T make a difference. Because it does. Don't worry about what you can't do, and just do what you CAN do. Don't worry about what you DON'T have... just give what you DO have. All you can do is all you can do. And that's all you could ever be expected to do. Once you've given something everything you've got it's either enough... or it isn't. And either way, you've done your part. So don't get down on yourself. Don't be so hard on yourself. Just do what you can do. Go where you can go. Reach who you can reach. It's more effective to pour yourself into the people in your life that can (and will) pick up what you're putting down anyway. Otherwise you're just shouting into the void, or banging your head against the wall. And when you do that, all you end up with is a sore throat and a headache. So rest. Flow. Do what you can do, wherever you're at. Let the love inside come out and let that be enough!