NASA’s new James Webb Space Telescope began transmitting almost fantasy-like infrared photos from deep space beginning in June this year. One image, described by scientists as hundreds of millions of light years from earth, shows a cluster of thousands of galaxies. Each of these contains billions, or maybe even trillions, of stars and an even more unimaginable number of moons and planets. According to Nasa, this image “is approximately the size of a grain of sand held at arm’s length and it represents only a tiny sliver of the universe.”

We’re continually learning how incomprehensibly BIG the cosmos is, yet John 1:1-3 tells us the Word of God made it all! Let that sink in. It is this same “Word,” Jesus Christ, that God the Father sent to planet earth on a mission of redemption and salvation. And it is the same Word of God who has called you and me to proclaim Him to all nations!

The “Great Commission” given to us in Matthew 28:18-20 is the MOST IMPORTANT MISSION in all human history — one that involves making disciples of the Creator of the Universe, Jesus Christ – the Word of God!

Disciple making will be the most invigorating and meaningful thing to which you will ever commit yourself. It will also be a very hard, inconvenient, and painful experience at times. Helping people know and follow Jesus is more than a few Bible studies here and there, and it is not “hit and run” evangelism that hurries to close the deal. Rather, it is an investment in lives – one requiring that we build authentic relationships. It will take unconditional love, grit, and patience. It will also take time. Making Christ followers is a journey, not a sprint.

You will be called out of personal comfort on occasion, working with people often broken and mired life-deep in the muck of the world. Highs and lows accompany the process. Yet, the eternal significance of giving your life to help someone know Jesus Christ makes it worth every second you devote to it!

As a disciple of Jesus, you are an “ambassador” for the Kingdom of God! If this sounds beyond your ability, you are in good company. None of us consider ourselves worthy or up to the task of representing the Son of God! Even so, that’s the task we have been assigned. Jesus gave this final directive before ascending back to Heaven, commanding us to “go and make disciples of all nations.” It is recorded in Matthew 28:18-20.

Jesus also made a key promise in this passage — one that should relieve our fears. It’s found at the end of verse 20 with Jesus saying, “I am with you always.” Hear that! Lay hold of this guarantee made by the Son of God! Jesus didn’t orphan us; we were never intended to accomplish the task of discipling the nations on our own. His very presence remains with and in us. The Holy Spirit empowers the mission!

Disciple makers are the vanguard, the “tip of the spear” in taking the good news of the Kingdom of God into enemy territory. Suiting up in the whole “armor of God,” as described by the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 6:10-18, protects us from the evil one.

Remember, “He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world!” I John 4:4 Suit Up, Be Strong in the Lord, and Go Make Disciples!