Dec 20, 20192 min
Published 12/20/19
Read Matthew 28:19-20
"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, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
Reflect
What are the things you are especially good at? What would you add to a team of disciple-makers?
No doubt you know someone who lives in a "spiritual basement." What exactly does this mean? This description applies to people who, though they are Christians, aren't living a Christian life. They're not living a wicked life per se, but they're not really living an active Christian life either. They just exist, living in the spiritual basement.
God never intended us to just exist. One of the first things God did after creating Adam was give him a job. "The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it" (Genesis 2:15, ESV). From today's perspective, it sounds almost cruel of God to set Adam in a paradise and say, "get to work."
But it was a job Adam was created to do, and he enjoyed it. We can guess this from the fact that Adam's punishment for eating the forbidden fruit was pain and frustration in working the land (See Genesis 3:17-19).
As Christians, we have a job to do too. Before He returned to heaven, Jesus told His disciples, "you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth" (Acts 1:8, ESV). And, "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, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you" (Matthew 28:19-20, ESV). This isn't just a job for Christians to do, it's the job.
Of course, there are many ways to get this job done, but far too many people aren't even trying. They're living in the spiritual basement.
Pray
Lord, I want to leave my spiritual basement and do the work You have created me to do. Guide my heart--and my steps. Amen.