Matthew 28:16-20

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore 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 that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

The great commissioning ends the Gospel of Matthew with Jesus' final post-resurrection appearance to his disciples being to send them out to continue God's work. Here they are turned from disciples into apostles, which means they are moving from being students (disciples) to the actual doers. They are now the messengers. The actors of God's plan on earth.

And yet what is here that is often overlooked is the simple line "but some doubted."

After everything that has happened, some still doubted.

And yet, as with Peter yesterday in the Gospel of John, Jesus still sent them.

God sends even with doubts present.

God calls and sends us even when we don't feel fully prepared.

Fully ready.

God sends us anyway.

Jesus didn't wait until the disciples were perfectly trained to leave them on their own to take up their mantle. He had equipped them and had trained them, but still left them to get some on-the-job training for themselves.

So, maybe you aren't feeling exactly ready each day to take up the call God has for you.

But maybe God wants you to go out anyway.

Lord you prepare us, but you also trust us to learn on the job. Strengthen my fears and insecurities about the work ahead of me, and keep your Holy Spirit guiding me always along the way. Amen.