The Great Commission: Go ye and prepare for marriage, find a godly spouse, be fruitful and multiply, and make your home an embassy for Christ’s kingdom.
Whoops, we seem to have this turned around.
The last time I checked, the Great Commission went something like this: “All authority on earth and in heaven has been given to me [Jesus Christ]: Go therefore and preach the gospel unto every creature, making disciples of all the nations, teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you, baptizing them in the Holy Spirit.
Cryptic words from our Lord. What could he have meant? The last command that we received from our Lord is one that we seem to have the hardest time following.
In my church culture, we are obsessed with the family. We love marriage, and we love children. That, my friend, is a beautiful thing. Far be it from me to say that I have anything against that. To be totally open and honest, I am absolutely dying to get married and start a family. If I thought I could be well married THIS year, I would bust my tail to get it done! Here is where I have one holdback on our focus.
It seems to me that we drive the goal of marriage and family so hard, that we as youth spend every waking hour preparing for that day. I am totally guilty of this. What we need to remember is that while, yes, a family is an incredible evangelical tool, God still uses individuals. Life is far too short to spare any time on our terms. The last order we received from our commander and chief was “go!” Young Mormons are required to spend a minimum of two years in overseas missionary work. Why cant we even manage half of that within our own neighborhood? We’re being beaten at our own game! We have no time to spare: thousands of people die every single day without ever hearing the NAME of Jesus Christ! How can we lie so comfortably in our dreams of the wonderful family that we will one day have and neglect the second greatest commandment in the entire Bible? How many souls can we save before we get married? That should be a question that ever dad should ask a suitor: “what have you done to save a life?”
Yes! You will most likely spend the far greater portion of your life in marriage. And yes, preparing to be the best husband/father, or wife/mother that you can be is one of the greatest time investments that you can make. But who says that you can’t have one if you have the other? Who’s to say that learning to faithfully bring the joy of Christ’s salvation to the world shouldn’t be a central part of our preparation process? Yes, us guys can get a bit preoccupied with trying to find a good job or career, building up a savings account, tackling college courses- all this while striving to become a man worthy of the gift of a wife. But before the day that a guy stutters his way through an important conversation with your dad, you girls have a lot of waiting. There is no exception to the Great Commission: we are ALL called to reach out to our lost and dying world. Not all are called to leave their homeland (however, I personally believe that most are; if only for short periods of time), but we are all commanded to fulfill the Great Commission wherever we are. Ladies, how are you preparing to support and participate in your future husband’s ministry? Guys, are you prepared to lead your family into the front lines in a campaign to save this world of death?
Have you thought about the fact that the only reason that we are still here is for the purpose of saving souls? If we weren’t needed here on earth, God would have taken us up to heaven as soon as we accepted Him. We could have worshipped and glorified Him there in perfection. But no, we have a job to do here, and we are ignoring it.
How then will they call upon whom they have not believed?
How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard?
And how will they hear without a preacher?
How will they preach unless they are sent?
Just as it is written, “how beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!” (Romans 10:14~15)
There are many hearts to be set free. How long, o sleeper, will you lie in your comfortable complacency?
You have been sent. Will you go?
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