This month many people celebrate “St. Patrick’s Day.”
Patrick, known worldwide as “Saint Patrick,” is the patron saint of Ireland, because he spent 40 years as a Christian missionary to the native pagan Celtic inhabitants of Ireland.
You might say he took Jesus’ order to His disciples very seriously. How about you? What are you doing about it? Don’t know what said “order”…orders? Well, here are the very words of Jesus:
“ . . . ‘Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age’ ” (Matthew 28: 18-20, NLT).
Now that we’re clear on what we’re all supposed to be doing, I want to be clear on this: you don’t have to do it like Patrick and spend the majority of your life in some foreign land…although if you, like Patrick, feel strongly that that’s what God has told you to do, then do it; but for most of us, I would dare say that this is not what you will end up doing.
So what should you do? Well…God’s not real specific about how you should do it, but He is specific that you should do it. This order from Jesus to His disciples has been called by many as
“The Great Commission,” but I’m sad to say, that for many of us, it’s realistically more like “The Great O-mission.”
The reasons why people choose not to witness for Jesus can vary from not really having a real relationship with Jesus; to being afraid of someone snapping on them; to not really knowing how to do it.
But the bottom line is this: “Go!” means…”Go!”
If you’re a Christian (and I hope you are) you don’t really have a choice here. You’ve got to “Go!”
So how do you do it? It’s a simple three-step formula:
1. Share about who you were before you met Jesus.
2. Share about how you met Jesus.
3. Share about who you are after you met Jesus (in other words, how has Jesus affected your life?).
The whole shooting match should take you no more than three to five minutes. I promise, as with anything, the more you do it, the better you’ll get. But, remember that no matter how you feel it went, God promises:
“The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth. They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry. It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it” (Isaiah 55: 10, 11, NLT).
So what are waiting for? “Go!”
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