Our Job as Christians
By Jessica Brodie
When I was a kid, I had one job: Watch over my little sister.
Back in the 80s, I was your classic latchkey kid, and we did all those 80s things you might hear about—drink from the hose, play outside all day long, things I don’t think my kids have ever done, sadly. My little sister was three and a half years younger than me, but in my head she was completely my responsibility. The fact that she had a rebellious streak and loved to play jokes on her super-serious, rule-following big sister didn’t help, but I wasn’t deterred. Even today, the weight of that responsibility rests on my shoulders like a mantle. I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’ve always felt like her little mama, and it makes no difference at all how old we get. I feel that way still.
We all have responsibilities. Maybe we’re parents, maybe we’re employed somewhere, maybe we’re the boss—whatever it is, our jobs are usually pretty clear.
Yet sometimes we forget we have a job as Christians, too. This is our most important job, but I’ve found it’s not talked about quite as often as the rest of our responsibilities. Consequently, many of us are fuzzy on it, or maybe we get confused and think other things are our “main” job.
Our job as Christians is to go and make disciples of Christ to the ends of the earth (Matthew 28:19-20).
Now, obviously this job, this command, this work, is for people who are already Christians. Becoming a Christian in the first place is a change that happens in our hearts and minds. We must believe that Jesus Christ is our savior and repent of our sins, trying our hardest to point our lives toward Christ, even if we get it wrong sometimes.
But once we become Christians—followers of Christ, members of God‘s family—we’re supposed to be disciples. And Jesus was very clear what he expected from his disciples.
When he resurrected from the dead, he spent forty days walking among his disciples before his ascension to heaven, teaching them how to live and what they needed to know. He urged them to feed his lambs and tend his sheep (John 21:15-19). He promised them the Holy Spirit would come as their advocate and friend (Luke 24:49).
And he told them their job:
“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” (Matthew 28:19-20 NIV).
The Holy Spirit stuff is just about accepting he’s in our soul, with us every moment. Feeding the lambs and tending the sheep ties into what Jesus said about the greatest commandments—love God with all our hearts and our minds and our souls and, second, love our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:36-40). We’re supposed to take care of each other, not be selfish.
But the directive about going and making disciples? Evangelizing? That can be really hard for some of us. A lot of people think it means getting up on a stage or standing on a street corner shouting about Jesus all day.
Yet bringing people to Christ, making disciples, often has nothing to do with words at all. For some, it’s about writing. For others it’s about serving with your church in the name of Jesus. Maybe for you it’s about living your life out loud, letting people know that you believe in Jesus, you go to church, and follow his ways. Or maybe it’s about relationships, inviting other people to study the Bible with you, pray, or join you for worship.
How we make disciples—how we evangelize, bring others into the fold—can look very different depending on who we are and what our gifts are.
But however we do it, the point doesn’t change: We have to take care of other people and help them become followers of Jesus also.
Some of us get so passionate about debating theology, calling out sin, or making big grandstands about morals and values that we forget about our main job. Disciple-making takes a back seat—but it shouldn’t.
Leading others to Christ must be our first priority.
It doesn’t mean these other things can’t be important to us. Turning from sin is a huge priority in my life. I’m constantly on a quest to be like Jesus. It’s called sanctification, the process of becoming more holy, and I’m probably going to spend the rest of my life doing it and never getting close, but I’m trying.
But sin is not the main thing. The main thing isn’t speaking out about issues, or pointing fingers, or any of those other things we can easily get caught up in.
The main thing is growing God’s kingdom. It’s bringing other people into the flock of sheep along with us and helping them know the True Shepherd, Jesus Christ.
Sometimes we live our lives like we’re immortal, like the day of our death or the day of Christ’s return is so far off. We let other things get in the way. We lose our sense of urgency.
But the time is now, my friends.
Our job is to what we can to bring others to Christ, to help other people believe, to help them know they belong. Our job is not to point fingers or to serve as a barrier. It’s to beckon people close.
Today, I hope you’ll join me in praying about how you personally can begin to make this a priority in your life if it is not already, to make us all get better and better at attracting people to Jesus. We don’t have to worry about having the right words to say, or even using words at all. We just have to understand that this is our job, and our priority, and surrender to the work of the Holy Spirit, who will use us to do this in the way he knows is best.
It’s not about us. It’s about him. Let us not stop until everyone knows him.
That’s a powerful act of love.
A prayer: Lord, help me remember that if I do nothing in my life beyond commit myself to you and bring someone else to you, too, then I serve you well. Help me do all I can to surrender to you in all aspects of my life. Amen.
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