Who Are You Leaving Behind?

There is a reason that Jesus gave his disciples the Great Commission. “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you” (Matthew 28:16b-20a). The time for Jesus’ earthly ministry was coming to an end. The time for his ministry from heaven was about to begin. His work would continue – starting in Jerusalem, and then Judea and Samaria, and then to the ends of the earth – through those he left behind whom he trained and were then empowered by his promised gift from the Father, the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4-8).

If discipleship was Jesus’ approach to ensuring his work would continue in the world, should it not also be ours? After all, on a macro level all Christians in all times are the product of discipleship and each has been entrusted with passing on the faith to the next generation. But on a micro level, each of us should view everything we do for the Lord with an eye toward the next generation. Who will be prepared to continue where you left off if for some reason you were no longer available? Would the ministry into which you are so heavily invested come to an end, or will you leave behind someone who is ready to keep it going?

This isn’t pessimism. It is responsible and obedient realism. Your time and mine on this earth is limited. Is there someone in your life to whom you can say, “Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice” (Philippians 4:9)? Who is the one who is following your example (2 Thessalonians 3:7) as you follow the example of Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1)? These are the questions that a church or family who desires to have the discipleship mentality of Jesus should always be asking, banking on the promise of Jesus to always be with us in this endeavor “to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20b).