“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…” (Matthew 28:19a)
The very nature of the Great Commission calls for us to recognize the value of people. Without people, there would be no mission. Disciples are people who have been transformed by Jesus who live for the purpose of seeing other people transformed by Him as well. Every soul is precious, and every person has value. Selfishness causes us to lose sight of this. A disciple does not live as if he or she were the center of the universe. Instead, they recognize that their life is a precious gift from God and that they were placed on this earth to make disciples of others. Their life is Christ-centered and others-centered. Think with me for a minute about how lonely the world would be without the people in it! When God made man, He designed him to be a relational being. God said, “It is not good for man to be alone.” He then went on to create woman, who would complement the man and be by his side as a mutual partner. Scripture teaches us that we are wired for relationships, and God never intended that we live our life in isolation from others. Discipleship does not occur in a vacuum. It involves surrender to Jesus Christ and living in accountability with the family of faith.
The greatest resource that the church has, aside from the Head of the church, is people. Jesus loves people and He intends for His church to love people. Jesus said that the world would know that we are His disciples, not by our buildings or our talent, but by the love that we have for people. Loving people is not always easy. Loving people is messy and hard to do. With people comes their problems–relational problems, emotional problems, financial problems, etc. But despite of all this, there is really no problem in the lives of people that discipleship cannot take care of. When my life is completely surrendered to Jesus, I am in the process of being conformed to His likeness. As I seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, He takes care of everything else in my life. My needs will be met and my heart will be satisfied.
It takes a disciple to make a disciple. It takes a disciple who is committed to Jesus and the welfare of others to make a disciple. If we ever lose sight of the value of people, the salt will be on its way to losing its savor. You might as well cover your light with a basket. Remember the value of people today as you interact with those at work, in your neighborhood, and at rush hour when you are tempted to lose your cool. Remember that they are precious in His sight and are the reason that He came to live and die and be raised to life again. Jesus loves people, and His disciples do as well.
bwdell
Which is more important, that we witness out of love for man, or out of love for God and his glory?
Brandon Ware
I’d say above all, our desire to see God get glory is our ultimate motive. Of course, true concern for God’s glory demonstrates itself through love for others. John said that if we don’t love our fellow man whom we have seen, how can we rightfully say that we love God whom we haven’t seen? Thus, the two are not mutually exclusive. Jesus summed this up for us in Matthew 22 with the Great Commandments–love God first, love others second. Where there is no love for one’s neighbor, there is no love for God and passion for His glory. Great comment!