Why has the Church changed what Jesus said?

A few days ago, Sue and I shared a meal with some friends. We hadn't seen them for quite some time, and it was great to catch up with news and to renew a long standing friendship. Our conversations during the evening covered a whole range if issues - politics, football, family, mutual acquaintances, work, and matters of faith. One thing which our friend, Ray, said has been going over in my mind ever since. He was talking about some words which Jesus said to his disciples not long before he left them. His words come at the end of Matthew's gospel, and are often called "The Great Commission". Jesus said to his disciples, 'go into all the world and make disciples.' The command seems clear enough - GO. The problem is, said Ray, that the Church has turned the command on its head and changed it to "COME".

The more I thought about it, the more I realised that he is absolutely right. We in the Church are so often talking about how we can encourage people to come and join us, when in fact Jesus never said anything about that. Instead, he talked about his disciples making a difference in their daily lives in the world as they live for him and demonstrate his love. Instead of keeping hidden in our buildings, we are called to be out in the world shining with the light of God's love!

One of the new ventures which I have been privileged to be involved in recently is "Prayer4Healing" or "Healing on the Streets". There are a number of groups around the country which are regularly engaged in this form of ministry. On the last Saturday morning of each month, Christians from 3 Doncaster churches, including my own, come together to offer prayer for healing for members of our town centre community. What we tell people is that there is no cost, and they have nothing to lose and lots to gain! We have only been going for 4 or 5 sessions so far, but already we have been able to pray with a good number of people. Above all, we are trying to let people know how much God loves them.

It's time that we as Church remembered what Jesus actually said. Hopefully as we do live out the kind of life to which Jesus calls us in our daily lives, this will encourage people to want to come and join us. But it has to start with "Go", not "Come"!!