Discipleship: A Way of Life
Discipleship is a way of life.
The call of Christ upon his church to make disciples is not an option; it is a command. That is to say, when Jesus spoke to his people in preparation for his return to the Father, he was not only preparing himself to sit at the right hand of God in power and glory; he was also preparing his people to do that which he had been doing throughout his life and ministry: to make disciples.
Then Jesus came to them [his disciples] and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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, 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).
Making disciples is what Jesus has always been about. Calling the least inadequate of persons to follow him, Jesus is following in the footsteps of Yahweh in the Old Testament, whose selection of persons to serve Almighty God was not dependent upon strength and outward appearances but on his divine appointment, election, and condition of the inward heart (c.f. Samuel 16:7). Jesus, then, is not looking for perfection; he is looking for a heart that is surrendered to him. He is looking for the evidence of humility in one’s life that boasts not in the strength of their personhood but rather in the glory of the divine God whose life, passion, and zeal leads them to abandon all for the sake of Christ. For after all, this is the command of our Lord: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24). And, he is looking for ordinary people, like you and me, whose only prerogative in life is to do the Father’s will.
As we continue in our work to make disciples in our congregation, let us leap for joy at the presence of God living in us by nature of our baptism; and may the power of God’s grace transform every part of our lives.
Serving our Lord together,
Pastor Brian