A week ago the Great Commission was read during our morning worship service. I can't tell you how many times I've read or heard this passage. It's one of those that every Christian learns, whether they do it on purpose or not. It sums up the mission of every person that claims to follow Jesus. The problem that comes with its familiarity is that its context is often forgotten.
This context became meaningful to me in a new way last Sunday. When Scripture is read skillfully, and listened to intently, the Holy Spirit can illuminate masterfully. Here is what I heard:
One of the things Christians like to fantasize about is what heaven will be like. In the song that launched Mercy Me to stardom in both the Christian and mainstream music scene, Bart Millard ponders:
Surrounded by your glory, what will my heart feel?
Will I dance for you Jesus, or in awe of you be still?
Will I stand in your presence, or to my knees will I fall?
Will I sing Halleluiah, will I be able to speak at all?
We assume that when we see Jesus face to face that we will be so overwhelmed by his presence that our only response will be pure worship. After all, that's what we see the disciples do in Matthew 28 when he appears to them after he has risen from the dead. But that's not all they did. Three pesky words that I've often skipped over and given little thought hit me like a ton of bricks as Paul Gately paused dramatically before letting them fall: "But some doubted."
Truth be told, we can imagine that a whole lot easier than unadulterated worship. Especially as we strive to really do what we think God wants us to do. While the goal of the Great Commision is the same among all, the way each of us live it out is different. Parents are faced with the challenge of making disciples out of children, some women pray fervently every day for their husbands to become disciples, and some teenagers strive to make disciples out of friends at school and even within their own families.
No one's situation is identical, but each one brings a world of difficulty and doubt with it. Thankfully, this commission was not given in the absence of doubt, or even in spite of it. It was given IN RESPONSE to it.
As we do our best to do what God wants, we remember what Mr. Gately referred to as "the most important part" in his reading: "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
This context became meaningful to me in a new way last Sunday. When Scripture is read skillfully, and listened to intently, the Holy Spirit can illuminate masterfully. Here is what I heard:
One of the things Christians like to fantasize about is what heaven will be like. In the song that launched Mercy Me to stardom in both the Christian and mainstream music scene, Bart Millard ponders:
Surrounded by your glory, what will my heart feel?
Will I dance for you Jesus, or in awe of you be still?
Will I stand in your presence, or to my knees will I fall?
Will I sing Halleluiah, will I be able to speak at all?
We assume that when we see Jesus face to face that we will be so overwhelmed by his presence that our only response will be pure worship. After all, that's what we see the disciples do in Matthew 28 when he appears to them after he has risen from the dead. But that's not all they did. Three pesky words that I've often skipped over and given little thought hit me like a ton of bricks as Paul Gately paused dramatically before letting them fall: "But some doubted."
Truth be told, we can imagine that a whole lot easier than unadulterated worship. Especially as we strive to really do what we think God wants us to do. While the goal of the Great Commision is the same among all, the way each of us live it out is different. Parents are faced with the challenge of making disciples out of children, some women pray fervently every day for their husbands to become disciples, and some teenagers strive to make disciples out of friends at school and even within their own families.
No one's situation is identical, but each one brings a world of difficulty and doubt with it. Thankfully, this commission was not given in the absence of doubt, or even in spite of it. It was given IN RESPONSE to it.
As we do our best to do what God wants, we remember what Mr. Gately referred to as "the most important part" in his reading: "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
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