The Christian Conundrum

 

 

"Wow! This is not quite as easy as I thought it would be..."

Most of us who go to church on a regular basis and/or read God's Word, are familiar with The Great Commission. The Great Commission comes from Matthew 28, verses 16-20. In particular, verses 19 and 20 say the following:

"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Okay - that seems pretty clear. So what is the conundrum? One of the problems is the way we set up our Constitution. To ensure there would not be a state mandated religion, in the First Amendment we put words guaranteeing all of us freedom of religion. In particular, we can blame Thomas Jefferson and James Madison for not making this most important freedom less ambiguous. Jefferson's words were thought to mean "the government should not establish, support, or otherwise involve itself in any religion". Historians believe Madison's words were more accurate and less restrictive. In any event, Jefferson's words are what seen to rule the day in modern times. 

How bad is it sometimes? Dearborn, Michigan is home to the largest population of Muslims in America. A church in that town is sponsoring an egg hunt. I don't even know if they used the word Easter. On the flyer, they had pictures of eggs and bunnies and all the secular things that would surround a secular Easter. Well, some of the Muslims are up in arms! Demanding this be stopped! They say it is a violation of our Constitution. Is this egg hunt part of The Great Commission? Maybe - might even be the smallest "on ramp".

I believe The Great Commission is one of the most important yet daunting commandments in the Bible. Doing it the right way is often times very hard. As I have said before, it needs to be that rich mixture of Word and deed. It is threading the needle with our own legalisms, as well as the interference of darkness. Oh yes - the principalities of darkness are not going to quietly let the Word of God be spread. Spiritual warfare is always a huge obstacle.

All that being said, The Great Commission still needs to be followed. We can't go to church on Sunday and then forget about what is taught until the next Sunday. Besides worship, we go to our churches to become equipped to live the right way between the Sundays. And following The Great Commission is a very important part of that equipping.

Is it easy? Not a bit. Is it a conundrum for many people of faith? I believe it is. Is it something we need to do? I thing we all know the answer to that one.