“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” (Matthew 28:19, 20 KJV)
This has got to be one of the top 10 taught on scriptures. Even I have already jotted down some thoughts on it in a previous article, “Go ye!”. Something interesting about this “go” command though. Jesus himself tells nearly this same audience to “wait” in Acts 1:4. Do you recall why? They were instructed to wait for the Holy Spirit. While the context maybe slightly different today, do you think there is any merit to waiting at least long enough for God’s power and direction? Discerning God’s direction may seem like a challenge. There are good suggestions out there (many of them making good sense) ranging from alignment to God’s Word to confirmation from other seasoned Christians to diligent prayer and fasting. All of these also make good sense in daily business and governing solutions. Yet, no matter how good the plan is or how clear the direction and needs are, do we dare step out unless we are surrendered to Him? Remember, we want His power and His direction for a reason.
The talent that needs to be increased is His talent. He will ask about it when He comes to collect. The authority that He has been given belongs to Him, not necessarily our authority on loan. He may ruin us to remake us. The disciples that we are to make are His, baptized in His name, not ours or in our name. Teaching disciples involves teaching His commands and not necessarily ours. Most challenging of all, His “new command” is centered in love; not discipline. Love requires both structure and nurture. There are many great structural disciplines in this world. So few of them have the foggiest idea of what Love is. Even more humbling is that the only way that we have a clue of what Love is, is by reflecting on the love that He has for us. Words like patience, kindness, and gentleness are really hard to find in any other structure-only discipleship experience. Why do we wait on God’s Holy Spirit? Because without His moment by moment guidance, we can do nothing. Try not to forget Screwtape’s reminder on just how powerful “nothing” is.
“But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8 KJV)