GO: The Biggest Word in the Great Commission

Our son, Mattias, is a complicated kid. He’s sweet, creative and remarkably intelligent. But to say he is strong willed would be underselling his capacity for intransigence.

When he was in preschool he, like many kids, went through a “naked phase.” He never wanted to have his clothes on at home (which was no small issue with regard to our furniture’s upkeep), and getting him dressed in the morning was part chore and part all-out war.

“We have one of these kids every year,” said his teacher, a seasoned veteran. “What you have to do is call his bluff.”

“How do we do that?” we asked.

“If he doesn’t get dressed after three warnings,” she said, “tell him you’ll bring him to school naked. Bring some clothes in a bag for him to change into, but put him in the car in a blanket if you have to.”

At first this seemed a little extreme to us, but after months of fighting this same battle every morning, we were willing to try anything. Sure enough, the next morning, he ignored all requests to clothe himself and even scoffed at my admonition that if he wasn’t dressed in five minutes, he’d be wearing his birthday suit to school.

Read the rest of my latest Sojourner’s article.  What does it mean to follow through on your word and in particular, Jesus’ Great Commission to love fully, radically and transformatively?