Do not pass go, do not collect $200, says the jail card in the game of Monopoly. You can't play if you don't go. Life is like that. You must go if you are to participate in Life.
Go is something we do every time we leave our homes and interact with others. After a while, we stop paying attention to the ordinary and others, and going just becomes part of our day.
In Matthew 28, Jesus after his resurrection from the dead meets Mary Magdalene and the other Mary near the tomb. He says to them:
“Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”
Matthew 28:10 NIV
Jesus tells them to go with a message, And that message, in turn, prompts the other disciples to go to Galilee. Jesus meets the disciples on a mountain in Galilee. There, he gives the disciples an instruction-an instruction that continues to be our mission today.
19 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,20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Matthew 28:19-20
The core mission of you and me, and everyone who calls themselves a Christian is to go and make disciples. Jesus does not intend for his followers to keep to themselves, to stay in familiar or comfortable places. Jesus, himself was always on the move during his ministry.
We don't have to go far from home to be an evangelist of good news. This kind of going can begin with relationships within your family, neighborhood, or workplace. The idea is to start where you are. You don't need mobility or foreign language skills. What you need is a humble heart that desires to listen and be present to another's stories of joys and burdens.
When you are out in the world, notice when someone appears to need a word or gesture of kindness. Be the one who says something comforting or affirming. Empathize, Affirm, Comfort, smile, make eye contact.
Go with attention, Pay attention to others. Be kind.
The commandment to love our neighbors means that we must know our neighbors and discover ways to share God's love with them. All of this means we have to go. Go, go, go.
Go like Jesus.
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