GO OUT AND LOVE

GO OUT AND LOVE

(Matthew 28: 16-20) Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore 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 that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

The last instructions Jesus gave his disciples in the Gospels is found in Matthew 28:19 just before he returned to heaven: “go out—go out and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.”

He was challenging them to go out and tell others the Good News.

I believe that challenge is for us, too. Jesus challenges us to go out and tell our families, our friends, our neighbors—everyone we come in contact with—the Good News that even though we have all made mistakes and failed God and others, God loves us anyway.

The disciples were not perfect, and neither are we. But we know the good news that we are loved by a God who was willing to die for us despite our imperfections.

And because we know this, we have been chosen to be ambassadors for the Lord.

1st Peter 2:9 says it so well.

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”

We are God’s chosen people—but more importantly we have been chosen for and given a special purpose.

The world, of course, wants us to believe we are just cogs in the machinery. Shakespeare even tells us that “All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players.”

For Christians though there is no being merely anything. We are so much more because we are the beloved children of God. And since we know this, we are called to share this with the whole world. We are called to go out and share love.

I’m currently reading Bob Goff’s Love Does. In it he says the following about us being called — “I used to think you had to be special for God to use you, but now I know you simply need to say yes.”

What a difference in this world there would be if we would all respond to Jesus’ last command and “go out—and change the world” by simply saying yes.

There is so much that we can do—so many needs. We just have to step out in faith and love and as the old Nike commercial proclaimed just do it. As Bob Goff later says, “In the end, love doesn’t just keep thinking about it or keep planning for it. Simply put: love does.”

May we be both individuals and a church that does love in the name of the risen Christ.

PRAYER CALENDAR

Please pray for those who have lost loved ones.

Please pray for Glenda’s daughter as she recovers from surgery and for Glenda as she continues to get over pneumonia.

Please pray for Anne as she returns for more x-rays on her arm this week.

Please continue to prayer for Louise Burton (Clay’s grandmother)

Please pray for Teri Hall who has been diagnosed with lymphoma.

Please pray for Heather Holloway as she recovers from back surgery.

Please pray for Toni Autello who has had a severe sinus and throat infection for five weeks.

Please pray for Rob Lamborn as he undergoes radiation treatments for a melanoma tumor inside his eye.

Please pray for Sue Shuford, a family friend of Richard Carlton’s. She is facing major back surgery due to osteoporosis and RA damage to her T12. A date has not yet been scheduled for surgery.

From Friends Feeding Friends: Please pray for Charlotte Arnold who has a spot on her lung.

Please keep Suzy Smith in your prayers as she copes with cancer. (submitted by Jane Shelton)

Please keep Matt Degutes and his family in your prayers. He was a neighbor of Richard and Ray’s and his daughter and family live here. His cancer has returned and the final decision is no further action.

Please keep Phil Shelton and his family in your prayers as Phil recovers from a stroke.

Please pray for Richard’s brother, Michael Carlton, who recently had a kidney transplant.

Pray for Jessica Forester who is stationed near Dallas, TX.

Please pray for Steven and the Denson Family.

Please continue to pray for all those in our church family with special needs: Bob Lamborn, Zee Martin, Toni Autullo, Harold Wilson, Melissa, and Walter.