“Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
—Matthew 28:19–20
When I first became a Christian, I didn’t fully understand what I had done. I had made a commitment to Christ at a Bible study on my high school campus, but I didn’t know what was ahead of me. I didn’t know what was going to happen, but I believed what I heard that day.
Not long after that, a guy walked up to me at school and introduced himself. He said, “Hi, my name is Mark, and I saw that you went forward and prayed to accept Jesus the other day.”
I was a little resistant.
“Hey, I want to help you,” he continued. “I want to take you to church.”
“No,” I said. “That’s okay. I don’t want to go to church.”
But Mark was very persistent, and he wouldn’t take no for an answer. Finally I relented. And not only did Mark take me to church, but he introduced me to other Christians. He had me over to his house for dinner with his parents, who also were Christians. I asked a lot of questions, and no question was too ridiculous to ask.
What Mark was doing was discipling me. And if he had not done that, I fear that I would have fallen through the cracks. Often after someone accepts Christ, he or she doesn’t know what to do next. Mark helped me in that transition. And what Mark did for me, we need to do for others. That is what the Great Commission is.
If you’re following Jesus as a real disciple, then you will be leading others to Christ. And if you’re not leading others to Christ, are you really following Him as you ought to as a disciple? We must be salt in our world—and salt stimulates the thirst in another person.
This article originally appeared on Greg’s blog.