My Dog Ate My Homework

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 28:19-20

I heard someone say recently that when we and/or if we get to heaven one day, God is not going to ask us to give an account for everything we did while we were on the earth, but rather, He is going to ask how many people we brought with us.
So, I ask you, how many people are you bringing with you to heaven? Because that, friends, is the assignment. Jesus gave us a very clear assignment to complete during our short time here on the earth. We are to make disciples of all nations, not just a few of our closest friends.
But what does "make disciples" mean exactly? Well, a disciple is defined as "a person who is a pupil or an adherent of the doctrines of another; a follower." So based on that, we are supposed to get other people to follow Christ, just as we do. But let's not ignore the second part of this command, and that is to teach them to obey everything I (Jesus) have commanded you. Did you catch that? Teach them to obey EVERYTHING. Not just some of God's commands, ALL of them. And those commands are clearly laid out for us in the bible.
Matthew 28:19-20, known as "The Great Commission," is the last thing that Jesus tells us to do during his time on earth. To me, that signifies that it is one of the most important commands that he gives us.
Imagine that one day you were walking along, and you found a key on the sidewalk. Attached to that key was a note that read, "This key opens a door to the greatest and most valuable treasure known to man, and it can be yours absolutely free. If you open the door, you will never have a need for anything ever again. Everything you will ever need is behind that door. However, once you open the door and see what is behind it, you must share it with as many people as you can and invite them to come with you." How would you respond? Would you keep it to yourself? Would you share it with others? Our society has bred us to be very protective of our valuables. What's mine is mine, and I don't have to share if I don't want to. But God's word tells us quite the opposite. What God has to offer us is the greatest and most valuable treasure known to man, and that is salvation. It is given to us for free, but the catch is that we have to tell everyone about it. That is our homework.
So, how many people will you bring with you en route to heaven? One is better than none, but none is unacceptable. Greater things have yet to come...but let's not keep that to ourselves.