I spoke in church this week about the Great Commission. We are all called to go and make disciples of Jesus Christ. But to make disciples means we too need to be one. To be growing Christians, we must be disciples of Jesus Christ.

Why? Because Jesus told us to go into all the world and make disciples. It takes one to make one. So first we have to know what a disciple is so that we can then go and make other disciples.

In Matthew 28 we find what is known as the Great Commission. Here Jesus said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you.”

What has Jesus told us to do? Go. Go where? Into all the world. And do what? Make disciples of all the nations.

There are two things in the original language of the Great Commission that we need to understand. First, it is a command.

Jesus wasn’t saying, “If you can work it into your busy schedules, would you mind—as a personal favour to Me—to please go. . . .” Rather, Jesus was saying, “You have submitted your life to Me. I am ordering you now to go into all the world.”

Second, these words are given to every follower of Jesus – young and old, men and women, new believers and older believers. It is not the Great Suggestion; it is the Great Commission.

The commission of the church is not to wait for the world to show up. Rather, the commission of the church is to go to the world. With all of the immigration going on in our country, it may mean stepping outside our front door. Regardless, every follower of Jesus should be doing this.

Therein lies the question: are you a disciple of Christ? In Jesus’ day, many people said they believed in Jesus. They followed Him everywhere He went. They listened to His teaching. The experienced and witnessed His miracles. But in the end, they disappeared. They weren’t true disciples.

So here is my question for you: Are you doing what He has commanded each of us to? If we are not making disciples of others, then we are not really being the disciples that Jesus wants us to be.

That being said, I would encourage each one of us to take the command of Jesus seriously and begin to share the love of Christ with others and as people come to faith, invest time in them, teaching them the things Jesus commands. In doing so, we will fulfill the Great Commission, making disciples of Christ for Christ.