“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”” Matthew 28:18-20 NIV

I like these verses. I went to Biblegateway.com because I wanted to write but there are no words and I was looking for inspiration and lo and behold I actually found some. 

These verses from Matthew make up the “Verse of the Day” and meant I didn’t even have to dig into the Bible because they were right there front and centre when I got to the website. They stopped me because the essence of these verses is action…the core is GO. This is a big coincidence. Of course you have no idea why it is a coincidence so I will explain.

I recently finished preparing the first of what promises to be a series of written pieces for a church’s website. They want content written about and around their varying sermon series and I was more than happy to oblige. In fact I just finished writing the content about their upcoming series, which is titled (if you have not guessed by now) GO.

How simple and yet how profoundly difficult a command (and make no mistake it is a command, not a suggestion). 

Christ makes three things abundantly clear:

1. I have ALL authority
2. GO and make disciples and baptize.
3. I AM with you always

Here is why you will GO; Here is who you will GO to; and here is how you will accomplish what you have been told to GO and do.

But GOing requires leaving.

Abram left and it was credited as faith to him. 

If we GO we leave…we leave our homes, our families, our friends, ourselves, our comforts, our belongings. This is the essence of GO.

Of course the world is not necessarily India. It is not necessarily Mexico or Africa or even Detroit. The world is right outside the door. But as the wise and faithful J.R.R. Tolkien once wrote:

“It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, GOing out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.”

To GO is a dangerous thing. You leave everything and everyone that makes you feel safe and comfortable and you GO naked into the world. 

Or do you? Do I?

When we GO (and we do) every day on the way to work, school, the coffee shop, travelling etc. do we GO with the mindset of obeying this one simple command? Do we GO knowing that the one with all authority, the one with the only authority, has sent us? Do we GO intending to make disciples? Do we even know what it is to make a disciple without taking a six week intense course written by the sharpest theological mind of the day?

I wonder.

I wonder if when we GO with a program in heart and in mind if we aren’t simply taking baggage with us? If we are, we aren’t really GOing are we? We are taking our comfort with us like a shelter. After all if we went with nothing we would have to rely more intentionally on the one who sent us. 

Maybe that is the point.

I want to GO. I don’t GO, but I want to. 

Maybe that is the prayer for the morning before I step out the door. 

“Lord help me to GO into the world today and take nothing with me. Lord thrust me naked into a fiery world that I might need and rely on you in every instance, for every word and every deed. Lord may the first disciple made this day be me. Baptize me afresh each morning that I might remember what it is you desire and GO and do it.”