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By Mike Caton

John 17:18, “As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.”

As we think about Jesus and his apostles, we see that to a degree, they have one and the same mission. Of course, we know Jesus came to be the sacrifice for the sins of mankind, and there was no way anyone other than God himself could accomplish that. In Luke 19:10 Jesus said, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” And in a sense, that is what Jesus has sent his apostles to do as well. They are not to be the sacrifice, as Jesus was, but they are to tell others about what Jesus has done. As Jesus was sent, so he sends his apostles.

Jesus has sent us into the world as well. The last thing Jesus told his followers was to go into all the world, to make disciples, to continue to teach them everything he had taught them, Matthew 28:18-20. Do we ever think about that? That Jesus has given us a specific mission to share the good news in all of the world? Too often, we think that is the job of preachers and missionaries, they are to go and share the good news. They are to be telling others about Jesus, they are to be inviting folks, and so forth. But the bottom line is, this is the job Jesus has given to us all. And the beautiful part is, we each are to spread the good news in the way God designed us to. There is no getting around the fact that we have to speak, tell, and even explain the gospel to others. But we also must share the good news by our actions. People need to see Jesus in what we do, how we act, and so forth. We need to be generous, like Jesus. We need to be caring, like Jesus; we need to be loving, like Jesus. Do you get the picture? We need to be like Jesus to draw people to him.

Evangelism is not a word we talk about too much anymore. But it still must be going on. We need to be introducing people to Jesus. We need to be sharing the good news. It is our mission.

Father, help me make a difference to someone today. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Mike Caton is the preacher at Mount Olive Church of Christ in Belhaven. He volunteers at the Ponzer Fire Department and works full time with Hyde County EMS. If you would like to receive daily devotions in your inbox, email mikecaton@centurylink.net.

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