Multiply Grace

Matthew 28: 18-20 - “18 Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. 19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” NLT

Most of us have just come through another Easter season. Whether you were organizing and/or participating in an Easter egg hunt, reaching out to your neighbors, or hosting the family, I am sure that all of you were doing something this past weekend, even if we knew “why”.

For many of us who follow Jesus of Nazareth, this past weekend was a remembrance of what He did on our behalf. God chose to become one of us, and He also chose death on a cross for us. This was all so that we could be reconciled to God. The apostle Paul tells us that all of us have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory, and therefore, Jesus came to die, make a covenant promise with us in His blood, and correct the mistake.

If this is all true, then we ought to be living as though the God of all creation spared no expense to save us from ourselves. We should be living a life that looks like it is forgiven, restored, redeemed, and reconciled. We should be loving, caring, hopeful, and unafraid of the future. After Jesus rose, He left the disciples with a plan. This plan was to spread this forgiveness and goodness. We should listen to Matthew 28, not like it is a story in a book, but rather an important page in the owner’s manual of our life. Make disciples of everyone. Baptize, everyone. Teach, everyone, to obey the commands that He has given us. If the world is going to understand who Jesus is, we will have to get better at showing them who Jesus “really” is.

Make no mistake, God will love you and yet watch your decisions take you to an eternity that you may not want. Love is patient, love is kind, love bears no record of wrongs. Jesus is the one who forgives and calls us to forgive others. He asks us to love the world as He does. Let that be what helps our body of believers multiply. Jesus can, I cannot. He is God, and I am not. Show people the real Jesus today!  
- Pastor Mike