If you look the word “go” up in the dictionary, which I’ve done as it’s not that hard, you’ll find a variety of definitions along the same theme. Dictionary.com gives these: 1. To move or proceed, especially to or from something 2. To leave a place; depart 3. To keep or be in motion. When Jesus tells his disciples to “GO,” he means for them to get up and move; to proceed to the task of making disciples. It is time to leave the hillside and move to a new place, to get into motion.

Like a lot of the things Jesus encourages us to do, like “love your neighbor as yourself,” the actual teaching is fairly easy to understand. Unfortunately, putting the teaching into practice is much more difficult. Loving your loud, smelly neighbor is more work than Jesus lets on. In the case of “go,” for instance, you might ask, “where?” Jesus says to go to all the nations, but where to start? With whom? What time? What comes first? Second? One of the glories of all this going is that Jesus does not spell out all the details. He gives quite a few available options (all the world). He gives some direction on what you should do as you go, which is to be his witness and make disciples and to love God and love others. But he leaves the place you do that up to you.

It may be far, like the uttermost part of the earth, wherever that is from you, or it may be near, like across the street. But one thing is clear. You have to move to get there. You have to get off your broad backside and go.