It’s Disciple Hunting Season, 24/7/365 – Go Get ‘Em!

Word-Of-The-Day: ‘(18) Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. (19) 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, (20) 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 28:18-20)

There are, believe it or else, other Elmer Yeagers out there. (I know, that thought even scares me.) My son, my late father, and a cousin all have the name ‘Elmer Yeager’.  Also, with a Google search, there are others, in the many clans of ‘Yeager’ across the fruited plains of America, that have the first name of Elmer as well. However, whenever I see or hear ‘Elmer Yeager’ out there, I assume that someone out there is either spoofing or honoring me (again, it’s likely the former but I convince myself it’s the latter). 

A couple of years ago, the National Weather Service named one of their winter storms ‘Elmer’. I thought this was a great honor to have such a storm named after me, though I did get knocked down a peg or two when the weather bubba quipped about the name ‘Winter Storm Elmer’ as, ‘It’ll likely be a Fudd of a storm’, which is one of the two responses I get from others when I give folks my name, usually at a restaurant when waiting for a table to open.  (The other is ‘Glue’.) 

Now the name ‘Elmer’, while synonymous with inept rabbit-hunting skills or sticky paste, is from Old English meaning noble, famous, or excellent.  (I think noble fits, but your mileage may vary.)  ‘Yeager’ is an Americanized adaptation from the German name ‘Jager’, and translates to ‘hunter’.  So, altogether my name (including my middle name) translates to ‘Noble Hunter of the Fields’.  This sounds way cool, except I’ve not done virtually any hunting in my life (unlike Elmer Fudd).  There have been pest animals I have shot in the yard (rabid raccoons and rats), and many paper and steel targets have been struck down, but nothing in the way of having to put food in the freezer or antlers on the wall. 

However, I still go hunting, every time I leave the house. The Great Commission is a hunting license issued by Jesus for Christians to go hunting for people!  Now before you reach for your pappy’s old Winchester 30-06, it’s not that type of hunting.  (Don’t shoot your obnoxious neighbor or their barking dog.) The hunting we do is to go and seek out those who have not heard or have understood the Gospel message of Christ.  Jesus, in Matthew 28, is about to leave the Apostles in His Ascension back to Father God in Heaven (Mark 16:19, Luke 24:51, Acts 1:9-11) and except for His visit to Saul/Paul on the Damascus Road and during His Revelation to John, will not physically interact with us again until the Rapture of the Church, though He interacts with us through the Holy Spirit and through our prayers.

Jesus gives two simple tasks to the Apostles, and through them given to us; to go make disciples and to teach those disciples all about Jesus.  In hunting terms, the ‘prey’ are non-believers, and it’s a target-rich environment all around us.  The area that we can hunt in is the entire world (actually, the entire universe, if man reaches Mars or other planets), as wherever our ‘prey’ is, that’s where we can go to hunt.  The hunting season is 24/7/365; our ‘prey’ is available anytime of day or night. 

To go hunting, there is typically gear you need to properly hunt; in this case we must equip ourselves not with a rifle or a bow but with a Sword – the Sword of the Lord, otherwise known as the Bible.  As with a rifle, where it’s best to get practice by taking it to a gun range and target practice and get familiarized with how it operates, the Bible is also best when you practice and familiarize yourself with it.  If you don’t read it or study it, how would you know what it says, or how to properly quote Scriptures?  The Scriptures are what you hunt with, and your knowledge of Scriptures are the ammo you’ll use.

The best thing about Great Commission hunting is you don’t necessarily have to go and wait in the cold for hours for a deer (or rabbit) to come be-bopping along.  A phone solicitor, a waitress or waiter, the service manager at the dealership, a doctor or his/her nurse; all of these (and all others) can be approached and given the Gospel of Christ.  Like hunting, not all hunts will be successful at first, but unlike hunting if you ‘hit your prey’ and they don’t appear to react, you don’t have to chase them down, although if given the opportunity you ‘hit ‘em again’. 

You can plant the seed of the Gospel, and someone else may then help lead them to Christ.  The best thing is, unlike traditional hunting, the Great Commission does take a life, but allows Jesus the opportunity to give your ‘target’ Eternal Life. I pray we all are Great Commission ‘Noble Hunters’, and that we have successful Great Commission hunting, now and until Jesus returns.  Tally-Ho!