How the ‘Great Commission’ is for more than overseas missionaries
By Dean Collins
Discipleship is not optional. When we made the decision to follow Jesus, we signed up to live by the values and for the purposes of his kingdom. Throughout the Gospels and the rest of the New Testament books and letters, we learn that Jesus wants us to go into all the world and make disciples. The most familiar passage that outlines our responsibility as disciples is found in Matthew 28:19-20.
Unfortunately, this commission from Jesus has been most often thought of in regard to missionary work far away. We have forgotten that it includes the discipleship of those who work in the next cubicle, exercise at the gym, swim at the community pool, or hang out in our favorite coffee shop.
When we read Paul’s letters to Timothy we quickly realize that Paul is trying his best to prepare Timothy to continue his work as a disciple, even though Paul will not be around to help, due to his imprisonment and eventual death. In 2 Timothy it is clear that Paul is giving Timothy reminders of things Paul has already taught him but also making sure that Timothy understands as a disciple you never stop the process of discipling another.
Intentional discipling
Who are you discipling? The harder question is this: Are you aware that you are discipling someone and likely several whether you think you are or not? If you are a follower of Jesus and anyone knows, then someone is watching and learning from you every day. You may not be intentionally teaching anything good or bad, but you are, in fact, daily teaching something good or bad. It seems that some intentionality about our discipleship would be far more effective than the lazy and haphazard approach we often have as a default.
The second chapter of 2 Timothy is filled with practical ways to live out our discipleship and includes some basics of what to say and model to those around us. The first 13 verses help remind us that the first aspect of discipleship is to remember who Jesus is, the foundation of the gospel we are to share. Beginning in the fourteenth verse, Paul gives us some very specific and helpful instructions to remind our disciples who Jesus is and then instructs them not to argue about words. This may seem odd advice. But have you noticed how many arguments we have every day? Working remotely, you may not pick up on it the way you used to in the break room, but just check your social media feed. We fight and argue about sports, politics, parenting, sexuality, media, race, education, and on and on. Many of these topics are important, but some not as much. Who is the best reliever in baseball may be a fun topic, but it doesn't rank in importance to how we raise our children.
Daily discipling
Paul doubles down and gives us this instruction: “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.” Paul’s point isn’t that everyone become a Bible scholar knowing many historical details and fluent in Greek and Hebrew. What is important is that we use scripture in our daily lives so that godliness is revealed in who we are and what we do. Specifically, it should be evident by our behavior that we are loving and acting as Jesus did. We are his witnesses to everyone around us.
And then Paul goes right back to what is worthless: spending all our time talking about things that are insignificant. Of course, you can have conversations about baseball and the movie you watched last night. But if we reflect on the totality of our daily conversations and social media activity and discover we aren’t taking time to help another person or mention Jesus through words or actions, our discipleship likely is blurred and needs correction.
Maturity in Christ is best reflected in the awareness of and practice of our discipleship. It may be time to take inventory of our relationships. Our goal is not about forcing anyone to believe what we believe. Our goal is to live like Jesus. When we do that, people will see and experience the joy of God’s grace and love and want to know more.
Your time with God’s Word
Matthew 28:19-20; 2 Timothy 2:14-19, 23-26 ESV
Photo by Christin Hume at pexels.com
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