Jesus’ bold commission to his followers

I come from a musical family—my mom began directing a choir when she was a teenager, and my dad was often singing tenor in whatever choir she directed. I’ve been on a church worship team since I was in 8th or 9th grade—I have one brother who writes and records music and performs in the local community, the other brother taught himself how to play piano, acoustic guitar, and bass by ear.

In our family, music matters. So, it’s no surprise to me that music is often how I connect with God best. Whenever I would get scared or have bad dreams as a little kid, my mom would pop in a cassette tape filled with calming songs based off of Scriptures to help reassure me so I could drift back to sleep. Ever since then, music has been the main way that I internalize God’s Holy Word.

In the gospel of Matthew, we read about Jesus’ final instructions to the disciples before He ascended to heaven. Their job was to “go and make disciples of all nations.” Over in Acts we learn that the disciples asked Jesus questions right before He ascended—they wanted to know if this was the moment they’d been waiting for, if this was the moment Jesus would restore the Kingdom here on earth. If this was the moment that they would see Jesus bring heaven down to this hurting and imperfect world. But Jesus flipped the script on them. He told them it wasn’t really their business to know God’s timing on that, but that in the meantime, their job was to be His witnesses in their local community and beyond.

By saying this, I feel like Jesus was redirecting their thought process. When it came to bringing God’s Kingdom here on earth, it was about the mission He had set before them.

When I read these verses, I am of course reminded of a song—“Kingdom” by Maverick City Music and Kirk Franklin. The song says, “If you’ve ever wondered what heaven looks like, it’s looking like me and you. If you’ve ever questioned what heaven sounds like, just let it fill the room.” These lyrics remind me that the mission before us isn’t just to sit around waiting and hoping for our world to be better, but to bring heaven here to earth by building community with other people, letting God’s Holy Spirit fill us and work within us as we bear witness to the overwhelming love of God.

If you watch the music video for that song, you’ll see the worship leaders singing and praising—surrounded by prison inmates who are singing along to every word. So, when they say heaven looks like me and you, the significance of those words is deep and visible. The Great Commission—our assignment from Jesus—is to go into all the world, even the prisons, and make disciples. That’s a depiction of restoring God’s Kingdom.

Not all of us are called lead worship on large platforms or to sign up for prison ministry. But all of us are called help bring heaven to earth by sharing God’s message and God’s love.

Who will you bring a taste of heaven to here on earth today?

Check out the song “Kingdom” and its beautiful depiction of heaven on earth here: Kingdom (feat. Naomi Raine & Chandler Moore) | Maverick City Music x Kirk Franklin