Overcoming the World (conclusion)
“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, even to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19,20 (NIV)
Fulfilling this mission given to His disciples as He was to ascend to heaven is the ultimate overcoming of the world. The Good News has been taught, those who are going to accept Him have accepted, and the end of the age has arrived. But we are not there yet, so we still have work to do.
We’ve been given the gifts, tools, and abilities that we will use to do the work we have been assigned. We are the “salt of the earth (Matthew 5:13a),” we are the “light of the world” (Matthew 5:14-16), we are to love one another as He has loved us (John 13:34,35), and we have received power when the Holy Spirit came upon us at salvation (Acts 1:8). With these tools we can bring the Kingdom of the Lord to earth.
We have talked about “salt of the earth” and “light of the world,” and John 14:24,25 contains a strong and convincing tool, love. “A new command I give you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” The bond of love shown by a group as diverse as the disciples of Jesus shows how to accomplish a task as complicated and important as the spreading the Word around the world. In Acts 1:8, we were told that we will not be left alone to accomplish this task of our lifetimes. “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Okay, we’ve been given everything we need to spread the Good News and to make disciples for Jesus. We shall witness to what we have read, heard, seen, and experienced within the Kingdom of God. Even when we do so with all the fervor we can muster, some will reject the message and spend eternity away from the presence of God. That will be discouraging, but I know that the Lord will appreciate our life-spending effort and will express his appreciation to us. “Well done, good and faithful servant!” (Matthew 25:21a)
Let’s spend our lives doing the will of the Lord,
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