We Have One Job…

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  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 all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:18-20

These were Jesus’ last words to His disciples before He ascended back to heaven. This charge is commonly known as “The Great Commission.” Should we not pay particular attention to the last words of the Savior before He returned to His Father? It was almost as if he was saying “If you forget everything else I said, remember this!”
The heart of the mandate is “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…” Why does he say “therefore?” Because of what he had just said. Because Jesus has been given all authority in the universe. Because He is over all things. With that in mind, the Almighty tells us through Jesus what is important to him. Go and make disciples of all nations.
This is a clear command. Why has the church through the centuries not finished the assignment? Shouldn’t 2000 years be enough time? We surely are not lacking in technology.
This assignment is not for someone else, it is for you and me! And Jesus has assured us that he will stay with us while we finish the task.
This should be the central focus for Christ followers. We should give our lives toward this end.
Hudson Taylor invested over 50 years of his life as a missionary to China in the late 1800’s and he said: “The Great Commission is not an option to be considered, but it is a command to be obeyed.” 
To be clear, much effort has been spent on foreign missions over the years. That is wonderful. But our assignment specified “make disciples of all nations.” The word used for “nations” here refers to all people groups. There are around 16,000 people groups in the world, and around 7,000 of them still have no believers and the gospel message is not available to them.
My friends, we have work to do. We have one job. Will we do it?

-David Shaw

(For more information about “People Groups” see the video at: Unreached People Groups – YouTube)