Last Words

In my heart I knew this was the last visit. She knew too. Almost as a postscript, she asked me give her clothes to her sister-in-law, my Aunt Caroline. “Look after Caroline for me,” were the last words she said to me. I said I would. My mother died a few weeks later and I kept my promise. For the next 28 years, I did whatever I could to care for Caroline because I made a promise to my mother. Caroline had a stroke when she was still a young woman. It left her paralyzed on one side. She had difficulty walking and in the last few years of her life, she was confined to a wheelchair. She lived in a nursing home just outside Dallas. Her husband died and left her with very little other than a social security check which barely covered the cost of the nursing home. One son was killed being the hero in an armed robbery. The other son was barely surviving financially, and was doing his best to manage his family and educate his children. When Caroline was dying, I was by her side, my mother’s words were still echoing in my head. I was not released from my promise until Caroline breathed her last breath.
The last words Jesus spoke to His disciples still speak to those who would be disciples of Jesus, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go 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 I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:16-20) In these last words, we see the Lord’s concern for all the peoples of the earth. Honestly I never really thought this mandate was for me. It seemed to me to be for those followers who were present when He ascended, or it is meant for those whom God has called out for “special service.” I don’t see myself as an evangelist. It is not one of my gifts. I don’t see myself as a real missionary. God sent me to Guatemala to work in an office, not to evangelize. However, again my thinking is changing. What is important to my Lord must be important to me. In those last words we see what is most important to Him—making disciples of all nations, being His witnesses. The command is to teach them to obey. Jesus also said, “If you love me, you will obey my commands.” (John 14:15) This command is definitely for me and for every believer.