Christian Discipleship

            We live in curious times.  As you read that opening statement, I’m sure many things enter your mind regarding what I might label curious, but today I’d like to address the issue of Christian discipleship.  The times we live in are curious as well as confusing.  For example, there are many who say they like Jesus, but they do not like Christians or the church.  The vast majority of people in our country will say they are “Christian," yet if they are asked to define what they mean by this statement, they will have difficulty doing so.  What does it mean to be a “Christian”?  To begin, a “Christian” is someone who follows Christ Jesus.  Someone who loves Jesus and desires to follow the directives that He gave His original disciples.  At the risk of oversimplifying, a “Christian” is someone who lovingly submits their life to the Lordship of Jesus.  This submission will put that person on a path that I will call Christian discipleship.

             Being a disciple of Jesus is synonymous with being a Christian.  There are those who might think that a disciple of Jesus is a radicalized Christian.  Some folks might mistakenly think that discipleship is the steroid version of Christianity.  In other words, there are regular Christians and then there are the crazy, zealot Christians (disciples).  Such is not the case.  One is either a Christian or one is not.  We need to remember that we are not saved (as Christians) by our good works.  The Bible is very clear that even our best deeds are not enough to save us.  Our inability to find salvation (forgiveness) by effort and determination is the very reason God came into this world and saved us.  If our blood, sweat and tears were sufficient to merit forgiveness (salvation), then Jesus would not have given his life for us on the cross.  So, when I talk about following Jesus (as his disciples), I am assuming that you understand that we desperately need Jesus; we follow Jesus, the Savior who did for us what we could not do for ourselves. 

            Every new Christian must continue to grow.  There are some people who think that being “born again” is all there is to being a Christian; they see no need to continue following Jesus after they have been forgiven. It is almost as if they see Christianity as a way to obtain a “Get-Out-Of-Jail-Free” card.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  God is not some wealthy donor who can be hoodwinked into forgiving us while we continue to ignore him and live our own reckless way.  Jesus came to this world and demonstrated that He is both Savior and King.  God has wonderfully offered each person grace. For those who choose to accept God’s grace, He then says, “Follow me.”  Christian discipleship is the following process, and it will involve the remainder of our lives on this earth.  As we follow Jesus, we will lean on and rely on the grace of God just as much as when we were first “born again” in Jesus.

            For some folks, what I have just said sounds great.  There are many who understand that when we live life on our own, by our power, we fail miserably.  To those I say, stay with me over the next few weeks as we examine Christian discipleship.  There might be others who feel that God is expecting too much when He asks us to lay everything aside and follow Him.  To these folks I will endeavor to offer a glimpse of something better.  I believe that we often settle for too little in life.  How many commercials have we seen which encourage us to grab all the gusto we can?  It is a mistake to view the Christian life as settling for “less gusto.”  I contend that when we follow the Creator of the Universe we are in for the ride of our lives.  When we trust in God, we are trusting in the One who will see us through the storms that would otherwise destroy us.  The Christian life allows us to meet and have fellowship with the One who is the “Lover of our souls.”  I’ll catch you next week as we continue to examine Christian discipleship.  Keep looking up!