If you are a believer in Christ and have spent any time in a church, you are very familiar with Matthew 28:18-20. Jesus tells us to "go into all the world, baptizing in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you."
That's no great secret. Most Christians I know could quote that verse.
Unfortunately, that is the extent in the lives of most Christians. Why is this?
Why is it that one of Jesus' most specific and directed commands is so routinely disobeyed? Why is this straightforward, no-gray-area, no-room-for-interpretation command of Jesus so absent in the lives of even very committed Christians and churchgoers?
I think it boils down to one thing. It isn't desire, or relationship with God, or prayer, or devotion, or any of the other things we normally assume when a command of Jesus is ignored.
It is PROXIMITY.
Christians just simply aren't around people who need the gospel.
In America, it is perfectly possible, and even encouraged, to structure your life and routine to be around people whose needs are not apparent. If you live in a safe neighborhood, go to an affluent school, drive your car everywhere you go, hang out with safe friends, go to nice shopping malls, etc, you can spend your entire life without ever meeting the very people Jesus said to go and reach.
I've been to several different countries. Many of them are countries where Christianity is a very small minority. I've been to the rural areas of Nepal, the mountainous regions filled with Hindu gods, strict caste systems, and questionable electricity. I've been to villages in India where missionaries have been killed for bringing Christianity to the tribes. I've been in areas of extreme poverty, encountering orphans and widows and people living on less than a dollar per day.
We simply don't see that here in America. We aren't in proximity to obvious spiritual needs. Here in America, spiritual needs are a private affair. People don't invite strangers off the street into their homes and ask them to pray for them. We don't see bundles of orphans on street corners. We don't see old women who haven't eaten in three days because their husbands died, leaving them without work or support. We don't see people hungry for the gospel who, the first time they hear about Jesus, they become lifelong disciples.
Sometimes I'm envious of pastors in those areas. They don't have to go looking for ministry. The ministry opportunities are right outside their doors.
However, here in America, it is difficult to find ministry opportunities. Ministry opportunities have to be actively sought out. Ministry opportunities are not obvious- they are very, very hidden. Christians in America have to disrupt their routine, sometimes immensely, to find the people who are in need.
I believe this is why committed Christians don't take the Great Commission more seriously. They've looked around and don't see any opportunities.
Their friends are either all Christians or are so actively antagonistic to the faith that they don't bother sharing- one, because they already know the gospel, two, because they don't want an argument and a possible loss of friendship.
American Christians, here is the truth: Just because opportunities are hard to find doesn't mean we don't have to do what Jesus said. We just have to work harder than other folks.
Once you are determined to place yourself in proximity to people who need Jesus, you will find ministry opportunities everywhere.
Prison ministry is available everywhere- but you have to get certified and background-checked first, and oh, there's the entire "going to prison" thing. They won't come to you. You have to go to them.
Mission opportunities are everywhere- but you have to raise money for plane tickets and all that. Oh, and there's the danger and the language barrier thing. They won't come to you. You have to go to them.
Homeless ministry is available everywhere- but you have to go to parts of town you normally don't go and be around people who are mentally unstable, hungry, and possibly don't smell very good. They won't come to you. You have to go to them.
Foster care and adoption is available, and hugely needed, everywhere. You have to be willing to bring hurting children into your home and possibly be rejected and hurt. They won't come to you. You have to go to them.
I guess what I am trying to say is this- place yourself in proximity to the people who need Jesus. You probably aren't in proximity to them. That's why you've been ignoring the Great Commission. You simply don't know any inmates, homeless people, foster children, orphans, or people of other religions in other countries.
If you DID know them, the Great Commission would flow freely from you, because when a true believer in Christ meets a person in need, it is very natural to love that person and share Jesus.
But the first step is proximity. We have to be around the folks who need Jesus the most.
Once that foster child has a face, and not just a name, the Great Commission is accomplished.
Once that inmate has a face and isn't just a sinner in an orange jump suit, the Great Commission is accomplished.
Once that shoeless, toothless woman in a village in Nepal has a face and not just a nationality, the Great Commission is accomplished.
Once that homeless man who hasn't had a bath in three weeks has a face and a story, and isn't just a nameless number walking the streets, the Great Commission is accomplished.
Proximity.
Proximity.
Maybe one of the biggest sins we have committed in American Christianity is the deliberate structuring of our lives so that we never see the people Jesus wants us to go to. If you a Christian, you want to see hell empty and heaven full. It won't happen without proximity to people who need Jesus.
If you are a committed Christian who does not accomplish the Great Commission- if you are a Christian who has never made a disciple outside of your own family- most likely you have structured your life so that you will never see the people God wants you to share the Gospel with. Don't take that lightly. Place yourself in proximity to those who are most receptive to the Gospel. Then watch the Great Commission be accomplished through you, to the glory of God.
That's no great secret. Most Christians I know could quote that verse.
Unfortunately, that is the extent in the lives of most Christians. Why is this?
Why is it that one of Jesus' most specific and directed commands is so routinely disobeyed? Why is this straightforward, no-gray-area, no-room-for-interpretation command of Jesus so absent in the lives of even very committed Christians and churchgoers?
I think it boils down to one thing. It isn't desire, or relationship with God, or prayer, or devotion, or any of the other things we normally assume when a command of Jesus is ignored.
It is PROXIMITY.
Christians just simply aren't around people who need the gospel.
In America, it is perfectly possible, and even encouraged, to structure your life and routine to be around people whose needs are not apparent. If you live in a safe neighborhood, go to an affluent school, drive your car everywhere you go, hang out with safe friends, go to nice shopping malls, etc, you can spend your entire life without ever meeting the very people Jesus said to go and reach.
I've been to several different countries. Many of them are countries where Christianity is a very small minority. I've been to the rural areas of Nepal, the mountainous regions filled with Hindu gods, strict caste systems, and questionable electricity. I've been to villages in India where missionaries have been killed for bringing Christianity to the tribes. I've been in areas of extreme poverty, encountering orphans and widows and people living on less than a dollar per day.
We simply don't see that here in America. We aren't in proximity to obvious spiritual needs. Here in America, spiritual needs are a private affair. People don't invite strangers off the street into their homes and ask them to pray for them. We don't see bundles of orphans on street corners. We don't see old women who haven't eaten in three days because their husbands died, leaving them without work or support. We don't see people hungry for the gospel who, the first time they hear about Jesus, they become lifelong disciples.
Sometimes I'm envious of pastors in those areas. They don't have to go looking for ministry. The ministry opportunities are right outside their doors.
However, here in America, it is difficult to find ministry opportunities. Ministry opportunities have to be actively sought out. Ministry opportunities are not obvious- they are very, very hidden. Christians in America have to disrupt their routine, sometimes immensely, to find the people who are in need.
I believe this is why committed Christians don't take the Great Commission more seriously. They've looked around and don't see any opportunities.
Their friends are either all Christians or are so actively antagonistic to the faith that they don't bother sharing- one, because they already know the gospel, two, because they don't want an argument and a possible loss of friendship.
American Christians, here is the truth: Just because opportunities are hard to find doesn't mean we don't have to do what Jesus said. We just have to work harder than other folks.
Once you are determined to place yourself in proximity to people who need Jesus, you will find ministry opportunities everywhere.
Prison ministry is available everywhere- but you have to get certified and background-checked first, and oh, there's the entire "going to prison" thing. They won't come to you. You have to go to them.
Mission opportunities are everywhere- but you have to raise money for plane tickets and all that. Oh, and there's the danger and the language barrier thing. They won't come to you. You have to go to them.
Homeless ministry is available everywhere- but you have to go to parts of town you normally don't go and be around people who are mentally unstable, hungry, and possibly don't smell very good. They won't come to you. You have to go to them.
Foster care and adoption is available, and hugely needed, everywhere. You have to be willing to bring hurting children into your home and possibly be rejected and hurt. They won't come to you. You have to go to them.
I guess what I am trying to say is this- place yourself in proximity to the people who need Jesus. You probably aren't in proximity to them. That's why you've been ignoring the Great Commission. You simply don't know any inmates, homeless people, foster children, orphans, or people of other religions in other countries.
If you DID know them, the Great Commission would flow freely from you, because when a true believer in Christ meets a person in need, it is very natural to love that person and share Jesus.
But the first step is proximity. We have to be around the folks who need Jesus the most.
Once that foster child has a face, and not just a name, the Great Commission is accomplished.
Once that inmate has a face and isn't just a sinner in an orange jump suit, the Great Commission is accomplished.
Once that shoeless, toothless woman in a village in Nepal has a face and not just a nationality, the Great Commission is accomplished.
Once that homeless man who hasn't had a bath in three weeks has a face and a story, and isn't just a nameless number walking the streets, the Great Commission is accomplished.
Proximity.
Proximity.
Maybe one of the biggest sins we have committed in American Christianity is the deliberate structuring of our lives so that we never see the people Jesus wants us to go to. If you a Christian, you want to see hell empty and heaven full. It won't happen without proximity to people who need Jesus.
If you are a committed Christian who does not accomplish the Great Commission- if you are a Christian who has never made a disciple outside of your own family- most likely you have structured your life so that you will never see the people God wants you to share the Gospel with. Don't take that lightly. Place yourself in proximity to those who are most receptive to the Gospel. Then watch the Great Commission be accomplished through you, to the glory of God.
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