Return to Your First Priority
Jesus entrusted His Church with a singular, paramount mission: the Great Commission. This is not merely a suggestion or an optional task; it is our core calling as followers of Christ. If you identify as a disciple of Jesus, know that this Great Commission is your duty. It isn’t just one among many—it’s the only commission that matters.
The Great Commission
In the last chapter of Matthew, Jesus said to His eleven disciples, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19–20 ESV). While Jesus delivered this profound directive with four distinct components, it remains one unified mandate.
Regrettably, recent studies reveal a troubling trend: Over the past two decades, the Western church has drifted from this essential priority. We have become preoccupied with secondary matters and have, in many ways, reformulated Christianity into a self-improvement initiative. Instead of embracing Jesus as our Savior and the gospel as our means of salvation, we have relegated Him to the role of a life coach or a motivational speaker and the gospel to a self-help message.
The alarming truth is that if you were to pose the questions to six out of ten Christians in America today—“What is the Great Commission? What should be the foremost priority of Jesus’ Church?”—the majority would struggle to respond. This is troubling, especially considering that this mission encapsulates the ultimate directive Jesus imparted to us. Yet, despite its clear significance, we’ve allowed our commission to fade into the background as we focus on lesser priorities.
We must urgently return to the one mission that Christ implored us to embrace. When Jesus returns, He will not inquire about our behavior modification plans or our self-improvement efforts. Instead, He will ask these vital questions: “How did you employ the time, talents, resources, and opportunities I granted you? Did you leverage them to reach the lost?”
Winning Souls
Proverbs 11:30 (NKJV) tells us that the person “who wins souls is wise.” Right now, at the start of the new year of 2025, it’s time for us to recalibrate our hearts around this first priority of winning souls, for it sits squarely in the heart of God.
Unmistakably, the singular passion of God is people. Jesus did not come to earth to establish a temporary institution; His mission was to seek and save souls—real individuals like you, me, and those across the globe whom we may never even personally encounter. He laid down His life not just for a select few, but for the entire human race—people from Africa, Europe, Asia, etc. We must grasp the immense value placed on every individual through this unparalleled gift.
Such a sacrifice—God’s only begotten Son—indicates a love so profound that it cannot be dismissed or ignored. This reality compels us to love others and dedicate our lives to the very mission that God cherishes. Yet, in honesty, we must confront our tendency to become complacent, even calloused, toward the staggering reality of lostness in our world. Many have never encountered the name of Jesus or received a clear presentation of the gospel.
We must scrutinize why God has placed each of us in this particular time, culture, and geography. We are positioned here, right now, because there are multitudes who have yet to embrace Jesus as their Lord and Savior. This task calls for our commitment to the Great Commission—an urgent mandate on God’s heart.
People are desperate for healing, for good news in a world rife with despair, and for freedom from bondage. They need spiritual sight to grasp the profound truths of the gospel. Let us return to this our first calling—to the Great Commission—being fully aware of the weight of our responsibility. It is incumbent upon us to step into our roles as ambassadors of Christ, bringing light to those in darkness, hope to the hopeless, and the transformative power of the gospel to every corner of our society. The time for complacency has passed. Now is the moment to act decisively and intentionally for the sake of those who have yet to hear. The task is monumental, but so is our purpose. We must go into all the world, disciple nations, baptize them, and teach them to be and do everything Jesus commanded.
