My dog, Archie, knows and recognizes several words when spoken. Well, this morning, Archie was laying flat as a pancake on his mat in our living room … dead to the world. My wife asked me, “Are you GOING for your walk now?” As soon as she said the word “GOING,” Archie’s head popped up as if he’d received an electric shock. He definitely knows the words “GO,” and “GOING.” And, when he hears those words, he’s ready to GO wherever we’re GOING.
I got to thinking about that as I left the house for my morning walk. I think the word “GO” is the only verb that Archie knows. All the other words he knows are nouns … SQUIRREL, TREAT, BISCUIT, WALK, etc., etc. I guess you can say that Archie is motivated by nouns … but not so much by verbs. Verbs require action, and when you’re tired and just want to lay around, verbs mean you’ve got to move. Yes, GO is the one verb that really gets Archie’s attention.
I think we’re all a lot like Archie when it comes to God’s kingdom. We know, understand and appreciate nouns like BLESSING, FAVOR, MERCY, FORGIVENESS, and PROSPERITY. God can say those words to us all day long, and He’s got our full attention. He probably has a more difficult time, however, when He speaks verbs to us. FORGIVE, PRAY, TESTIFY, SHARE, SERVE, etc., are words we have more difficulty comprehending at times.
Unlike Archie, I think most of us have little appreciation for the verb GO when God speaks it to us. After all, the last recorded Earthly command of Jesus was “GO into all the world and preach the gospel” (Mark 16:15). Most of the time, we’d rather lay down and take it easy on our “comfortable mat” in the living room. GOING requires action … a little exertion of energy … maybe even a little sweat and work.
Yes, GO is an important word in Jesus’ vocabulary. Check out these instances where He said the word GO:
“Go and sin no more” – John 8:11
“Go and show yourself to the priest” – Luke 5:14, Luke 17:14
“Go and learn the meaning of the scripture…” – Matthew 9:13
“Go and preach the gospel” – Mark 16:15
“Go and proclaim the kingdom of God” – Luke 9:60
“Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves.” – Luke 10:3
“Go and do likewise.” Luke 10:37
So, it’s time for us to tune our ears so we can hear the verbs the Lord is speaking to us in these last days … and one of the most important is the word GO. Lest you think I’m overemphasizing the importance of that word, just remember GO is the first two letters in God’s name … and the first two letters in GOspel.
