All true Christians understand well the great commission of Matthew 28:18-20. Many bemoan the decline in church attendance, but few seem willing to dig in, push up their sleeves, and do what we’ve been charged:

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

Sometimes, I’m not sure we all understand exactly what we need to do.

Go, make disciples, baptize, teach–there’s nowhere in this charge about sitting in a church pew complaining.

So why, when most of us understand this charge, is it so hard to actually follow? I think maybe sometimes we need a little extra motivation.

I often show motivational videos to my students, and I’m a fan of Eric Thomas, former player for the Cincinnati Bengals. While I don’t agree with every single word of his ministry, I envy his enthusiasm and passion for the cause.

One of my favorite quotes of his is this one:

When you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe, then you’ll be successful.

To which I ask why…

Why can’t we as Christians want to bring others to salvation as badly as we want to breathe? Why do we not have this utter urgency to save them from the danger their souls face? Why can’t we get motivated, unified, and rise up to do something about it?

Why? Because we’ve completely messed up Romans 12:2. You know the verse–the one that says do not be conformed to this world. Unfortunately, many of us are completely conformed to this world. We fall into the same rut as everyone else.

Maybe part of that is we don’t believe it can be done anymore. We don’t believe that the unsaved want God in their lives. But we must remember that we were created in His image. All of us were, even the ones we fear can’t be saved. And so, we need to get motivated to study more, work harder, and try, try again.

I love this video, featuring Thomas and Jaret Grossman, a bodybuilder with a similar message. Success is mind over matter, and we need to rewire our brains to stop wallowing in self-defeat and to get out there to do the job God has asked us to do.

Look for opportunity! Who do you know, right now, who needs God?  We can’t be conformed any more. We’ve been commissioned.