JULY MEMORY VERSE

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, 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 Great Commission—are we just coming to church to see Jesus, or are we going to take Jesus to others? What does this passage in Matthew mean to you?

About 25 years ago I pondered this Scripture and wondered how I, a dental hygienist, could follow this Commission. The operative word is go—whether to our community, our friends, or the world. If we go, God will provide opportunities to call others to a new way of life.

A dental friend I met on a professional trip to Crimea asked me to go on another dental mission trip to Senegal. Along with three dentists and seven other helpers, we set up a mini clinic in a Christian mission house and worked with locals whose hygiene practices included cleaning their teeth with a stick. Many people assembled, mostly Muslim, and waited for dental care. On one occasion when we lost electricity (which happened often), I grabbed a translator and told the story of why I had come. I simply shared that I loved Jesus and that Jesus loved them. I told them how Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection changed my life and my priorities. I planted a seed in a captive audience!

In Columbus, Ohio I worked as a hygienist at Faith Mission, cleaning the teeth of the homeless. One of my patients was a young man who had fallen on hard times and had just Matthew 28:19-20 returned to his hometown. While working, I discovered that as a child he had gone to the church I was now attending. I asked him if he would like to come to church with me, and I picked him up the following Sunday. Eventually, he found a job, joined the church, sang in the choir (as a soloist no less), and finished school. I went to his wedding when he married a woman from the choir.

My husband Dick and I had only been married for a brief time, but I wanted to grow and study the Bible with other couples at church, so I sent a letter asking  others to join a couples Bible study. Every other week we met to study the Word, challenge each other in faith, and eat, of course! We even went on a few retreats together, including a trip to the Holy Land where we shared the Word in situ. Although some couples have passed on or moved, those who remain are still close friends, and we are better disciples.

Sometimes we are called to go and plant seeds. Other times, the Holy Spirit moves us to bring others to hear Jesus’ teachings and be nourished by Scripture. And we’re always to pray that God will finish His work through us with the knowledge that the great “I Am” is with us until Christ returns in glory. How will you  respond to His call to “go”?

by Debbie Bailey