I saw an amazing video of a horse race. As the horses were being loaded into the starting gate, the horse in gate five, raised up and slung his head to the left and made contact with the jockey on horse number four. Horse five head-butted jockey number four and stunned him pretty good. As the jockey tried to collect himself, the gates opened and his horse took off without him. 
 
The jockey-less horse not only ran the entire race, but won the race! My favorite part of the video is the caption, which reads “The Horse understood the assignment.”
 
A meaningful reflection of Jesus happens as we carry out the assignment of making disciples.
 
Despite not having a jockey, the horse was successful because the horse did what the horse was supposed to do. The assignment for followers of Jesus is to make disciples (Matthew 28:18-20). Jesus said we are to love God and to love others (Matthew 22:36-40) and the chief end of loving others is to make disciples.  
 
THE ASSIGNMENT IS:

1. People: Jesus came to seek and save those who are lost (Luke 19:10). We can do a lot of things in the name of the assignment, but let’s make sure we keep our eyes on the target, which is people. 
 
2. Rescue: Jesus came to earth on a rescue mission. When He ascended to heaven, he left us to continue the mission as His hands and feet. Disciple-making begins with salvation. Yes, we want to grow people into maturity (in their faith), but let’s be sure we are still seeking to rescue those who are lost. 
 
3. Every day: Breath in our lungs is an indicator that we’re still on mission. We can stop pursuing the assignment when we’re face to face with Jesus. Until then, let’s pursue people with the gospel. 
 
4. Not optional: Being a Christian is to be a missionary. Being on mission through sharing the gospel is to be a definitive characteristic of people who follow Jesus. J.D Greear frames this idea well when he says “you’re either a missionary or a mission field. There is no third option.” 
 
If the defining indicator of our love for Jesus was how often we shared the gospel with others, would people know that we are followers of Jesus?
 
Keep Reflecting Jesus!