Matthew 28:16-20. 16Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. 18And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
What is our purpose in life? Why are we here? Why do we exist?
If we go all the way back to Genesis we can find some answers to these big questions. We exist to image God. To worship him, love him, and serve him. How? By being fruitful and multiplying. By filling the Earth with his love through creating more and more image bearers.
If we think of our relationship with God as being like a fruit-bearing plant (like a vine and a branch), we can see that we are meant to produce the fruit of love (a branch) by staying connected to the source of love (the vine). In Genesis 3, we were cut off from the vine of God’s love and have been fruitless ever since. We are multiplying greed, hate, selfishness, and fear.
In Christ, we are reconnected to the vine of God’s love. We are grafted into his eternal life of grace. We are image bearers once again, remade in the likeness of Christ. We are fruit bearers. Multipliers. By the power of God’s love for us, and through loving relationships with others, we are called to once again be fruitful and multiply. Jesus called this disciple-making. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations. In this simple yet profound “Great Commission” we find both our purpose and our power.
What is our purpose? Make disciples.
As Jesus ascended this was his command – turn the whole world into students of mine. Not converts. Not adherents. Not proselytes. Disciples. Students. In other words, invite people into an ongoing, slow-moving, relationship with Christ and yourself that is full of love and trust. This isn’t about preaching on street corners until someone makes a decision or walks down an aisle to an altar in a church. This is about teaching Jesus’ commands to someone. His commands to love God and love others. Jesus is calling for close communities of love and grace. He’s calling for the church to be like the Garden of Eden, not through mass production of converts, but through face-to-face, sharing of our lives.
And here is the ascension promise – I am with you always, to the end of the age.
Jesus is not a memory or a nice thought in our hearts that we carry with us as we go through life. No, he is actually with us. He is literally living his life through the countless believers that are daily impacting the world for Christ. Jesus is farming the land. Jesus is teaching your children. Jesus is picking up the trash. Jesus is building the tunnels and bridges. Jesus is serving food at the restaurant. Wherever Christians go in the world, Jesus is going with them. And that’s why all of life, all of our going, can be disciple-making, because Jesus is with us.
Most Christians are going, going about their lives, but they aren’t really making disciples. Not like Jesus did. I’m not talking about quantity here. I’m talking about quality. Quality discipleship that comes when we accept that when we invite someone to do the Christian life with us, we are inviting them to do it with Jesus. The Jesus who is with us.
Jesus with you always isn’t just proximity. It’s power. It’s his work, not yours. You can’t fail any more than Jesus can fail. And who knows, if you decide to make disciples, you might just actually learn to trust Jesus more than you ever have before.
To live is Christ is to invite others to share the life of Christ with us, and to do it in the freedom of Jesus’ own empowering presence, his authority and love, as we multiply the life of Christ by the love of Christ. And in the process, finding the meaning of your life in his.
You: What is the purpose of your life?
You in Christ: In Christ, you are given a purpose and a power – make disciples through Christ’s presence. How does this change how you see the purpose of the day ahead?
Christ in you: How can you begin to make disciples in the midst of your going?
Prayer: Father, you promise that I am never alone, Jesus is with me. Not just in my thoughts and memories, but by his actual presence in my life. I want to live from this power, the power of his presence. Help me to trust Jesus’ presence in my life moment by moment. Amen.
To Live is Christ 