Understanding Discipleship

What comes to mind when you hear “disciple” or “follower?”

I will go out on a limb, but I doubt you were not thinking of the words “talmid” or “talmidim.”

These ancient words, ‘talmid’ and ‘talmidim, ‘are translated as disciple or follower. But in today’s culture, there’s no easy way to identify someone who voluntarily seeks to identify with their master in every area of life. This is a choice, a dedication to become like the master in every way. They study not only to learn what their teacher knows but to become the person their teacher is.

The Journey of Transformation

Many trade apprentices spend years with their master to strip away their former identity (along with clothes, hair, and anything else that is personal), but even this analogy falls short.

Now, I am not talking about cults that force this identity change on their subjects. This is not a volitional, conscious process by the follower–it’s coerced.

What His Invitation Means

When Jesus tells us to make disciples of people throughout the world, he is calling us to first dedicate ourselves to living, eating, sleeping, working, playing, loving, suffering, bleeding, and breathing every moment of our lives with God so that his most profound purpose becomes ours. How can we encourage and show others, if we are illiterate, by grasping this direction from the Word of God and being a disciple or follower? Far too many Christians settle out for so little, and thus, as a whole, it leaves Christianity lacking true disciples and followers.

Living the Kingdom Life

Evangelism is NOT limited to converting people to a particular system of beliefs. Jesus’ Gospel is a dynamic call to a way of life (KINGDOM), not a contract we sign in which we agree to believe a specific creed in return for God deciding not to send us to hell–and after which all that remains is not to breach the contract before we die.

The Gospel that Jesus invites us to is nothing less than the practice of the presence of God in our lives, RELATIONSHIP. This is the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Heaven–the awareness of Immanuel, of God-with-us.

Are we contracted Christians? Are we under obligation by some unwritten contract? No! God gave us the new life- FREELY!
What he asks of us is to be HIS follower. He gives us a new heart, but our lives are still being transformed.

This discipleship and followership process is only perfected as we follow. God’s perfect love and unconditional acceptance are free for the taking (what we call salvation), but how we follow him is a stewardship choice we control.

This process of sanctification–making “holy” or setting apart for God—is a heart choice, not a hard choice. It’s a personal journey of growth and transformation, and it only hurts as much as you resist it.

Why does the Truth seem so powerless today? Could it be that the followers of the Truth have so dramatically “lowered the bar” and have accepted such a watered-down version of this truth someone cannot see it today? If this is true, then the only remedy is to raise the bar back to His original instructions- Follow me.