11/3/2021 CONCERN FOR ALL NATIONS
Matthew 28:18-20 HE told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and earth. Therefore go and make disciples in all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the FATHER and of the SON and of the HOLY SPIRIT, and then teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you; and be sure of this—that I am with you always, even to the end of the world.” [Living Bible translation]
Summary
Matthew 28:18-20 is known as “The GREAT COMMISSION.” Some churches call it their “Mission Statement.” In army terms, some might say it was the disciples’ “marching orders,” and “final earthly directive for every disciple of CHRIST thereafter. These verses are the divine instructions of our HEAVENLY COMMANDER, the resurrected JESUS CHRIST.
There is no doubt that JESUS wanted HIS disciples to be concerned about all nations. Acts 1:8 emphasizes that the disciples were to be “witnesses” in “Jerusalem” (where the local church was located) in “Judea” (where other places of worship and disciples were located, in “Samaria” (where “those other churches” were located that the disciples could not even “imagine” worshipping with because of the bias and bigotry of the times) and “even to the end of the world.”
JESUS’ disciples were and are to be witnesses everywhere to all nations, all nationalities, and all people.
Individual “Healthy Living” Is An “All Nations” Concern
Just as the internet is a network of networks or a global system of international computers that link all nations, health care links all of us. Just as the individual health of each individual member of a family affects “the health” of the family, and the health of each family member affects “the health” of a community (or a church or a school or other associations), and the health of each association in a community affects the health of a county ….until we get to the “health” care of the world, so it is that health care is a concern “for all nations.” Like the internet, we are all connected in terms of the need to “be healthy.”
In recognition that living a healthy lifestyle is an “all nations” concern, a number of organizations have established health guidelines that they hope will have a worldwide effect. The World Health Organization (WHO) is an organization concerned about the health of the world. Established in 1948, WHO is a specialized agency of the United Nations that has the mission of providing global leadership in public health. WHO employs health specialists, medical doctors, scientists, epidemiologists and also people with expertise in administration and finance, information systems, economics, health statistics as well as emergency preparedness and responses.
WHO defines health as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease. This is one of the preambles to the WHO constitution. Some of the other preambles to the WHO constitution state that:
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- The enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being without distinction of race, religion, political belief, economic or social condition.
- Unequal development in different countries in the promotion of health and control of diseases, especially communicable diseases, is a common danger.
- The healthy development of the child is of basic importance; the ability to live harmoniously in a changing total environment is essential to such development.
- Governments have a responsibility for the health of their people which can be fulfilled only by the provision of adequate health and social measures.
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