The Great Commission : The Path to Christlikeness posted by Yuen Woh Voon on Oct 24, 2012

Matthew 28:18-20
” Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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.”

The Great Commission is sometimes associated with the call to evangelize. We are often so burdened with this “call” that we start viewing it to be a sacrificial act. “If we don’t evangelize, no one will” is a very erroneous view on evangelism. It is mentioned in the Bible that in the end times, even the holy angels will go forth to share the good news. In countries of which the numbers of Christians are marginal, many are coming to know the Lord through dreams and visions. It seems like God has no problem getting the gospel out into all nations Himself, and it is evident that He does not need humans to do it for Him. So, what is the Great Commission about and WHY is the call to make disciples of all nations given to us.

Romans 8:29
“For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters”.

God’s ultimate goal for all men is to be conformed to the image of His Son, Jesus. The task given to us is not the task to evangelize nations but to MAKE disciples of all nations! It does not stop with a decision to receive Jesus, but goes on until the character of that believer is confirmed to that of His Master. Eventually, he or she will in turn, lead others to Christ, becoming like Christ in His love for others even to the extent of giving His own life. Our maturity in Christ is reflected by the degree of our transformation into Christ’s likeness and not by the success of our ministry, whether it’s the number of souls saved or otherwise. The key indicator is our obedience to God’s will for us.

The key in observing the Great Commission is none other than the act of obedience. Many people often “run away” from this call, giving a mountain of excuses that evangelism is a “gift” or a “calling” that not everyone possesses. But it is very obvious that the call to make disciples is given to all believers. So it is not a matter of being personally ‘called’ to evangelize, but to make the call of evangelism personal. When we obey, we are actually submitting ourselves to the “hands” of God, permitting Him to mould and shape us to be more like Christ.

The Great Commission is a call for transformation. In the process of obeying His call, we learn to love people because only those who truly love will go. We learn to be selfless because loving others is the antidote to selfishness. We learn to be patient and persevere in serving the person we are burdened for; we learn to take rejections for Christ. When we say to God “here I am, send me”, we are obliging to the road of which Christ once walked on. There is no “shortcuts” in becoming like Jesus. And if you truly understand this fact, you will indeed walk on this road, fixing your eyes on Christ knowing that in every step you take, you are one step closer in becoming like Him, the author and finisher of our faith.