Scripture: Matthew 28:18-20
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.”
Thought for the Day: What do you think of when you read the words, “…obey everything I have commanded you”? What do you think must be obeyed? If you do a quick glance through Matthew’s Gospel, you will notice that Jesus offers a couple of key commandments back in chapter 22 — we are to love the the Lord our God…and love our neighbor. Too often, the church has expected people to obey all kinds of strange things, suggesting that’s what it meant to be a disciple. In John’s Gospel, Jesus summarizes how you determine if someone is a disciple and obeying what he commanded, “This is how everyone will know that you are my disciples, when you love each other” (John 13:35). Leadership in the life of the church must begin with us modeling love, specifically what Cypress Creek Christian Church describes as the Love First Life. If a person’s first reaction in a discussion about loving the neighbor, the immigrant, the convicted felon, the poor, the individual of a different race, ethnicity, from the LGBT community, or ____________________ (fill in the blank), is to lead with an excuse on why not to show love, then I think the person needs to ask the question: What am I obeying? I do understand how some situations are complex. In regard to a convicted felon, if the person’s issue was theft, the church can love the person while also saying, “You can’t count the Sunday offering.” When our fears and insecurities are telling us how to react, that we are obeying something other than what Jesus commanded.
Prayer: Jesus loves the little children, all the little children of the world… I sing the children’s song, while also believing that I am one of those little children that you love, O Lord. May your love given to me with such abundance be a love that I willingly share with the world around me. Amen.
See You This Morning
