I am a divorced man, now remarried. There, I just said it out loud.
Not really.
But when you type something in a public setting, it’s pretty much the same thing, right? The people who you are afraid to offend, the people who you want to have a good impression of you, are not always those in your vicinity any longer, but those connected to you online. I’m not so sure this is a good thing.
That’s not to say that we shouldn’t make connections online. Of course we should! But the real connections that will have a lasting impact on each other are best done face to face. There are some who I have known for a decade through my blog who have influenced me for the better, but none of these people have had as deep an impact as the man who I have met for coffee every Friday morning for three years.
Matthew 28:18
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, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Our primary mission as followers of Jesus is to live out the Great Commission. As we’re doing so, we are to take care of the widows and orphans and love one another, but the underlying instruction given to us by our king is laid out for us clearly. It is a mission that can be discussed and supported online, sure, but it still requires us to GO!
We go to make disciples of all nations, rather than just set up a website and hope they stumble upon it. We go to baptize those who become disciples. We go to teach these disciples all that Jesus has commanded. And as we go, Jesus remains with us always.
My blog has been in disrepair for several years. I am OK with that. I make no promises of regular updates in the future. I hope you are OK with that. I hope to nurture my relationships I have with those I know through online sources as we encourage each other to GO into our communities and beyond. And if we cannot go beyond, let us encourage each other to support those who can.
And above all, remember that the person across from you, the one who can look you in the eye, is in a more God-honoring position to sharpen you even as you sharpen them.
