What's this "Go Ye" stuff all about anyway?

I saw the face of Jesus in a little orphan girl

She was standing in the corner on the other side of the world

And I heard the voice of Jesus gently whisper to my heart

Didn't you say you wanted to find me?

Well here I am, here you are

So, What now?

What will you do now that you found Me?

What now?

What will you do with this treasure you've found?

I know I may not look like what you expected

But if you remember this is right where I said I would be

You've found me

What now?

And I saw the face of Jesus down on Sixteenth Avenue

He was sleeping in an old car, while his mom went looking for food

And I heard the voice of Jesus gently whisper to my soul

Didn't you say you wanted to know me?

Well here I am, and it's getting cold

So, What now?

What will you do now that you found Me?

What now?

What will you do with this treasure you've found?

I know I may not look like what you expected

But if you remember this is right where I said I would be

You've found me

So, come and know

Come and know, know me now

Come, come and know, know me now

Come and know

Come and know, know me now

Come, come and know, know me now

What will you do now that you found me?

What will you do now that you found me?

What now?

What will you do with this treasure you've found?

I know I may not look like what you expected

But if you remember this is right where I said I would be

You've found me

What now?

What now?


("What Now" by Steven Curtis Chapman)

"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen." (Matthew 28:19-20 KJV)

"Go Ye" looks different than I have always thought it to be. My worldview collided with God's view and I don't think I will ever be the same. As I worked in Kenya with the church it became so crystal clear to me the command of "go ye" and what that really meant.

Simply put, "go ye" means just that. God does does not put boundaries on it or a specific location. I had so he challenged me on it. What we did in Kenya can be and needs to be done here in Colorado or California or New York or another country. "Go ye" is a universal command. The neighbors across the street from me need Jesus just as much as the people in the slum of Mathare do.

I have a confession to make. Almost a year ago Mikaela went with some friends and served the homeless in a kitchen downtown. Ever since then she has been begging Lanny and I to go back and we kept putting it off. God told me as I arrived home from Kenya to stop putting it off and do it. His command to minister isn't reserved for special times or different locations. It is to be part of my life. He says in James that we are to look after the widows and the orphans. In our world today that expands out to anyone who is impoverished in any manner. My neighbors across the street are well off financially but they are impoverished because they do not know the riches of Christ. What am I doing about it? After transitioning I walked over and introduced myself. It's a start and as God leads I will reach out and begin to share Christ without saying a word about him.

I love St. Francis of Assisi's approach to "go ye". He said, "It is no use walking anywhere to preach unless our walking is our preaching."

"Go ye into the world..." Go ye, Beth, across the street to your neighbor's house, downtown to the Salvation Army Soup Kitchen, to a coffee shop with a friend who is struggling, to your kids school and their teachers, to the people you work for, to the person across the sanctuary who is distressed, and yes to Kenya or China or El Salvador or wherever I ask you to go. Beth, go ye.