Words to Remember

I held the paper in my hand, reading the message in surprise. A telegram! I didn’t know anybody who sent (or received) telegrams, yet there I stood with one of my own. I’d competed at a local level in a national scholarship program and then advanced to the state event. Participating at the state competition involved traveling several hours away from home and staying with a host family for a week. On the final evening of the contest, the telegram had been delivered to me. It came from Alice, a friend of my grandmother. She sent a note of support, reminding me that many people back homesome who I barely knewcheered me on while I attempted to do my bEsther Although I got several cards in the mail that week, I received only one telegram, and it’s the only good luck message I remember from that season many years ago. The final recorded word that Jesus spoke to His disciples before He ascended was a message they wouldn’t forget either. The resurrected Jesus had instructed His disciples to meet Him on a mountain in Galilee, and when they had gathered there, He gave them what we often call the Great Commission. This included Jesus’s command to share the good news (or the gospel) with all the world, teaching others to follow and obey Him. And the Great Commission still applies to Jesus’s followers today. We also have been commissioned to make disciples wherever we gosharing with others the hope and purpose we have in Christ through faith. Because He has forgiven our sins, we get to have a relationship with God, living transformed lives through the Holy Spirit and looking forward to the day Jesus will return bodily to earth. The telegram from Alice boosted my spirits during a challenging week because it reminded me that I wasn’t alone. The Great Commission also carries a reminder that God’s people (then and now) need to hear: Christ has all authority…in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18). As He calls us to live in service to Him, He also promises that He will remain with us, even to the very end. Allison Wilson Lee Why do you think Jesus saved the Great Commission for His final talk with His disciples? Read Matthew 28:16-20. How might the Great Commission pertain to our lives today? What difference does it make knowing that Jesus promises to be with us always? Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations… Matthew 28:19a (CSB) Read Verses: Matthew 28:16-Matthew 28:20

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