You Have Been Commissioned

A missionary spoke in our church one Sunday a while back.  I had trouble focusing...and I noticed a lot of other people did, too.  But that's okay: the man who spoke is not a preacher by nature, nor is preaching the focus of his ministry.

But he got up and did it just the same.

Toward the end, I was able to focus in better and was struck when he talked about the people in our lives who "fly under our radar."  We reach out to new neighbors with baked goods and encouragement, maybe even boldly professing our faith...but what about the neighbors who have been on this block for years and years?  Or the guy two cubicles down?

I must confess something: as I sat there, I began nodding vigorously, thinking of all the people in my husband's life to whom he hasn't reached out.  His boss, his closest co-worker, a fellow student in his lab who has since moved onto a different part of the country.  The guys who he eats lunch with on occasion.  The professors he's worked with before and still sees around the building.

 

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And then God tapped on the shoulder of my heart and whispered there, "But what about you?"  And the average day in my life flashed before my eyes: the grocery store clerk who when I mentioned Easter last spring pointed out that she was a pagan in a tone that screamed for love and attention.  The single mom at the gas station where I sneak to buy treats and we talk about coupons and babies...but never Jesus.  The gaggle of young moms at storytime, the mall's play area, the playground at the park.

There are people in even my little life as a stay-at-home mom who could first hear the Good News of Jesus from my lips.  That is a fearsome thought but also an awesome opportunity.

I have a responsibility: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28:19a).  Now is not the time for me to go to Africa or even another state, but now is always the time to be making disciples wherever I happen to be going.

Are you fulfilling Jesus' call  to tell of His name wherever you are going?  Can you share wisdom, encouragement, or your own struggle in this matter?