Passion for the Great Commission!

 

The Mission Team at my church is focused on developing a passion for the Great Commission among our congregation.  Why do I tell you that?  For several reasons.  First, I think there are several misconceptions about the Commission.  They include what is meant by a “commission” and who was the Commission given to.  However, before we even address those questions, I think we need to understand why the Commission was given. 

            That question relates back to the Great Commandment and the Second that is like it.  In Matthew 22: 37 – 39, Jesus told us that the Greatest Commandment is to love God with every aspect of our being.  I think that most Christians get that!  After all, God is the Creator of all, the King of Kings, the only true God!  As Paul describes Him in I Timothy 1: 17, He is “King, eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God…”

However, it is the Second Commandment that we often brush aside.  That is the commandment to love our neighbors as ourselves.  Loving our neighbor should be the fuel behind our passion for the Great Commission.  Paul gives us a glimpse of God’s heart for mankind in I Timothy 2: 3, 4 when he announces that God desires that everyone be saved – that includes our neighbors.  Of course, we shouldn’t have to be reminded of that.  John 3:16, perhaps the most quoted Scripture in all the Bible, says that He sent His only Son because He loved the “world.”  “World” includes everyone, not just those who look like us or talk like us or think like us or are friends with us.  “World” includes everyone! In the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10), Jesus tells us that a neighbor is the one who shows mercy on someone else.  How much more can we show mercy than by offering the gift of eternal life to someone else?

So why, do we have such a problem with not just carrying out the Commission that we have been given but in developing a passion for it?  I think the answer goes back to those other questions about what is meant by “Commission” and who were the intended recipients of the Commission.  Stay tuned!  I plan to discuss those questions in my upcoming blogs.  For now, I challenge you to read and meditate on Matthew 28: 18 – 20.  How is God calling you to develop a passion for the Great Commission?

Matthew 28: 18 - 20

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