Verse of the Day - Matthew 28:18-20

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"And Jesus came and said to them, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.'" Matthew 28:18-20, NRSV

It's strange how often people confuse discipleship with conformity. There's no doubt in my mind that obedience and discipleship go hand in hand, but conformity isn’t necessarily synonymous with obedience. To learn the commands of Jesus and obey them requires a dedication to discipleship first. A person has to decide to pursue Christ-likeness.

Conformity is simply looking and acting like everyone else, and forced conformity breeds enmity and rebelliousness. What Jesus is proposing isn't just conformity. We aren't supposed to go into the world and force everyone in every nation to look like and act "Christian." That would be foolishness, anyway. Since we will always struggle to be more Christ-like, we are in no position to force Christ's likeness on anyone else. At best, we could force people to look like us, but they're not supposed to be our disciples. Making disciples and teaching people to obey everything that Jesus commanded can never be accomplished by force or coercion.

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