Tuesday 19 Nov 2013

Tuesday Reading: Matthew 28:18-20

Key Verse: Matthew 28:19
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

Devotion:
I do like the way that the gospel of Matthew ends with Christ’s commission to the disciples to go out and teach others themselves; or in other words, go and find people to become disciples themselves. This does not mean that we have to go and discern who is going to be a believer and who is not and then only teach those that we think deserve to be called disciples! Far from it! Christ gave them the instruction to go and teach all over the place. Up to that point the instruction was to teach the Jews, their own people, the truth about Christ.

We are often very selective with who we want to be able to teach because it is hard to try and teach someone who does not want to listen. I do not envy teachers who have to teach students no matter what! They do not (or should not) have a choice as to who they teach based on who they think will achieve the greatest results; nor should we. We should not turn someone down just because they speak against us.

God wants us to reach out to those people who are hard to reach, even those who seem to be working against us every step of the way. But in order to reach out to such people we do have to be prepared for the journey! It is no good going to try and teach a geography class if the only subject you know is history. They may seem close enough to some people, but anyone who is listening to the teaching may be able to pull it to pieces if they know a few things. This is what we face when teaching others, some people who know a little or who have firm ideas of what they believe; we have to present the truth to them and be able to defend that truth.

Christ made sure that the disciples knew as much as they needed before they were sent out to teach others. Christ chose Paul because of his vast knowledge of the scriptures even though Paul was working against Christians. We can go forward in Christ’s name and teach others as long as we are willing as well. Jesus gave others the chance to hear the gospel. He told them the truth. He allowed them to make their own decisions; but the truth had to be told to everyone.

Points to Ponder:
Do you tell others about Christ?

Have you been selecting who you tell?