Go- Matthew 28:19
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.
I grew up in a cul-de-sac in a new development that was bursting with kids. Nearly every track home on the block boasted at least a couple and we all attended the same the elementary school. From what I remember the parents would take turns picking up and dropping off groups of us. I remember a friend’s dad would give us the same benediction every morning. One of those things that was repeated so often it rubs a deep groove in your brain, something you could never forget. Every morning as we tumbled out of the carpool he would say, “Study hard, get good grades, make us proud.”
Now, in what still feels like a strange turn of events in the timeline of my life, I am the parent with a car full of kids. All four are mine, but as of this present school year three of them are in school full day. I too have a morning benediction: a blessing and a commission for my littles as they tumble pell-mel out the door of my dirty white SUV and into the wide world.
As we pull into the carpool drop-off formation, this is what I say: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Love others as yourselves, for this sums up the law and the prophets. For you Emma Grace Marsden, and you Logan Vance Marsden, and you Lucy Joy Marsden, have been called to make disciples of all people—teaching them everything Jesus has taught you. And truly, He is with us always, even to the end of the age. And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will see it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. And remember: Mommy loves you!
It’s a bit longer than what I was raised with, and more times than not they are vibrating with impatience as I begin reciting it, daily, as we pull in past the gate into the parking lot. But I understand the power of words to shape lives and have experienced their formation in my own life. I recognize that my great commission to go and make disciples begins in my home with the tiny God-image-bearers I have been tasked to steward.
What words have shaped your life? How can you bestow words of blessing and purpose to those around you? How are you living out the call to go and make disciples?