“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20 (HCSB))
Whether this is your first time reading the Great Commission or not, the danger is to think we know the commission so well that we don’t take the time to understand it and live by it. So let’s do both today!
Did you know that, in the original Greek text, ‘Go’ is better translated ‘As you go’? This means that Jesus is saying “As you are a student,” “As you work at Starbucks (or whatever job you may have),” and “As you go about your daily lives, make disciples.”
Based on this verse alone, Jesus says that our minimal standard of Christian living is to be a disciple maker—one who lives to share God’s love with others so they, too, will follow Jesus! The key is that He doesn’t expect us to come up with something new, but rather do so as we live our lives on mission!
When God makes a disciple through us, we are then to baptize them, and the best way is to help them get connected with a body of Christ, specifically a local church! Afterwards, we begin to teach them to observe everything Jesus commanded us, including to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other command greater than these.” (Mark 12:30-31 (HCSB))
Living a “Life on Mission” means to be part of this reproducing cycle. We start by loving God and loving our neighbors, so we may make them disciples of Jesus, baptize them and get them connected to a church, and teach them to be disciple makers by loving God and loving their neighbors too.
This Life on Mission can start today! It may start by you praying for your neighbors and finding ways to meet their needs in order to build relationships with them and share the love of Jesus to them!
Will you receive the call today to live a Life on Mission?
Reflection Questions
- How many people do you know by name in the block you live in? (How many do you not know?)
- How often do you pray for your neighbors? Daily? Weekly? Monthly? How does the Great Commandment affect how you pray for them?
- What can you do today to push back spiritual darkness in your neighborhood? Week? Month?
About the Author
Conrad Au is a bivocational church planting missionary in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada for the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. His ministry strives to reach urban communities that have mostly turned away from the Christian gospel. Previously a youth pastor for a decade, he has had a specific passion for Youth Ministry for the past ten years, and continues to serve as the Youth Catalyst in Vancouver for the Canadian National Baptist Convention.
About the Artist
Phoebe Shen is a sophomore Legal Studies and Sociology double major at Scripps College. In her free time, she enjoys playing any sport, photography, drawing, and making music. Her home church is at Mandarin Baptist Church of Los Angeles.