Commissioned: Passion to Purpose: Living the Great CommissionSample

God's Secret Mission

Jesus is inviting us to help Him in the most exciting mission on earth—to rescue every person on earth from sin and Satan and to return each one to a loving relationship with Him! This mission is for every baptized Christian, but not many Christians understand it. That’s why I’ve called it a “secret” mission—not because God wants to keep it a secret, but because it has been unknown to so many Christians, including many Catholic Christians.

Let me break down this mission into two parts:

God loves every person on earth, and He wants every person to know His love and to know how to have a personal relationship with Him. This part is not too hard for most Christians to believe. We have experienced God’s love, His grace, His kindness. It makes sense that He would want to bless everyone as He has blessed us.

God’s plan for reaching every person on earth with His love is…US…all of us who are baptized members of His Church! We have the incredible privilege of being workers with God in making Him known to others! Each of us has a particular part to play in helping others come to God. Some are called to the office of priest or into religious life, but most of us are strategically placed by God in the midst of the world. We are given particular personalities and interests and gifts, and we are uniquely able to reach the people in our world. We are the representatives of God to the “worlds” we live in. All we need to do is love God, love people and be ourselves.

But here is a hard truth: God doesn’t have a “Plan B.” We are it. God is depending on us. Our participation is not optional. If we do not take the love of God to those around us, they will never know the love of God. Most people are not going to come to a church on their own. Jesus is sending us out to people who would never come in unless we invite them.

Here is a happier truth: People everywhere are hungry for God. The entire history of the world and the experience of evangelizers today confirm that many people want to know God and are even seeking Him.

Let’s look a bit more closely at Jesus’s words in Matthew 28.

“All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” God has given Jesus an assignment and He is sharing this assignment with us. Jesus gives us two commands: “Go” and “make disciples.”

“Go… (to) all nations.” God wants to bring everyone, everywhere to Himself. We have GO! This means reaching out in love to those far and near.

“Make disciples.” A disciple is a close, committed follower. This is what God hopes for from every person. Then, Jesus gives us two activities by which we make disciples: “baptizing” and “teaching.”

“Baptizing” means helping people to be incorporated into the life of the church through the sacraments.

The church calls catechesis “Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded.” It is a lifelong process of learning more about God and gaining a deeper understanding of Him.

“Behold I am with you always.” Jesus makes this special promise to us—He is always with us, loving us and loving others through us. We can say that He is with us doing through us the work that he gives us to do.

“Until the end of the age.” By 2033, it will have been two thousand years since Jesus invited His followers to join Him in reaching others—the work will go on until He returns!

Stop, think and pray:

Have I responded to Jesus’s invitation to reach others with His love? What are the things that hold me back? Fear? Business? Lack of concern for others? “God, please show me my heart, and change my heart to a heart of love that wants to share your love with others.”