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The Invitation


         In Matthew 28, we find “The Great Commission” where Jesus says, “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” (Verses 18-20).

            Note the pattern that Jesus lays out, because the order is important:  “Make disciples… baptize and teach”.  The end goal is to make a disciple, which is simply another word for “follower” or for “one who is learning”.  Part of the process of making a disciple is to “baptize” them and to “teach them to obey all things”. 

            Now, if we get things out of order, we have trouble.  For example, if we think that the goal is to “teach them to obey all things”, then we will never baptize anyone and we will not make any disciples because no one will ever “know all” or “do all”.  Fortunately, there is no big “entrance exam” that you have to pass before your faith can be effective.  Instead, teaching and learning are life-long processes that continue as we grow in our faith.

            Likewise, if the goal becomes only to “baptize” people, we have a problem, because it is easy to think that the process is done.  “I have been baptized and now there is nothing to do but to sit around and wait for Jesus to return and take me home”.  Baptism was never meant to be an end-point.  Rather, it is just another point along the away to maturity.

            Maybe, over the years, the church has made the invitation too hard to accept.  Maybe we have given people the impression that you have to know a lot or be a “holy person” before you can become a follower of Christ.  Too many times, I have heard people say something like, “When I get my life together, I will come to church”.   Church and faith are not for those who have their lives together.  In fact, it is exactly the opposite.  We need to pursue faith because we cannot get our lives together without it.

            The bar should not be set that high.  Instead, if you accept the authority of Christ in your life and you want to be led by him, baptism is the next step.  Teaching and maturity will come as you live the rest of your learning to be his disciple.

            When understood in this way, Jesus’ invitation is full, inviting and useful for a lifetime.         

            Being a disciple is an on-going activity.

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