The Great Commission: The Security

And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

My daughter, like Linus, has a security blanket.  It makes her feel secure.  It makes her feel comfortable in uncomfortable situations.  I don't know why, but she feels like everything is going to be alright as long as she has that blanket.  Sure, it's false security, but the comfort is very real.

In the Great Commission, Jesus declares his authority and gives us our marching orders.  His authority is absolute and our marching orders are monumental.  So how does He end?  Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.  Jesus knows the difficulty of the work ahead.  2000 years later we look back and see that most of the men He was addressing died on account of their affiliation with Him.

I confess that when I look back and see the end that came for Paul and Peter and James and John, I feel almost silly discussing our need for comfort in evangelism.  At this point in history, most US Christians don't face the type of persecution that the apostles endured.

Yet, we still experience trials on account of our faith.  2 Timothy 3:12 tells us that all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.  We shouldn't get caught up in comparing our trials with the trials of others.  Just as Christ reprimanded Peter when Peter asked what sort of fate John would suffer.  He said, "If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!"  Jesus is essentially saying, don't worry about everybody else, be faithful to what I've called you to.

And that's just it.  What will our faithfulness result in?  We know that Peter was killed.  We also know that Peter was integral in the spreading of the Gospel of Christ.  We know that Stephen was stoned, but we also know that he stood boldly for Christ in the face of deadly consequences and his faith was "proven" to be true.  Even in the worst cases for our physical well-being, God did miraculous things through the faithfulness of His people.

There is our comfort.  He is with us.  He is for us.  Despite what happens to us as a result of our faithfulness to His call, we know that He holds the keys to life and death and that His purposes are being accomplished.  We don't put our hope in a sentimental piece of cloth, our hope is in the God of the universe.  Our hope is in the omnipotent, omni-benevolent, omniscient God who created everything we see out of nothing, judges justly, and mercifully provided a Way for our salvation.  THAT is security.

May we rest in the goodness and kindness of our Savior as we strive to fulfill the Great Commission.

Soli Deo Gloria