This is part 2 of 2 of Lesson 1: An Overview of Discipleship. Click here to go back to the introduction to this lesson.
Then [Jesus] said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me…” Luke 9:23 (NIV)
The requirements of true discipleship boil down to two things:
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Recognition of something wonderful in the character of Jesus, and a willingness to follow Him.
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Following through and actively pursuing a relationship with Jesus.
What does this last point involve? I think there are two main elements:
a. Committing to spending time with God through prayer, Bible study and other Christian reading, and fellowship with other Christians. No earthly relationship can survive without time spent together, so why should a spiritual relationship be any different?
b. A willingness to surrender our own will to Christ. To be transformed into His likeness. To obey His commands out of love for Him and because we trust Him to direct our lives in the way which is best.
If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. John 15:10 (NIV)
I nearly stopped there at verse 10 as it illustrates the link between love (relationship) and obedience, but then I read the next few verses as well, which puts it all into context.
I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. John 15:11-14 (NIV)
God has given us many commands, for instance elsewhere (Matt 22:37,38) Jesus reinforces that loving God with all our heart, mind and strength is the ‘first and great commandment’. However it is interesting that Jesus points out that a sacrificial love for others is very important to Him.
It is obvious that this trait is at the core of Jesus’ own personality. Jesus has linked the truest and purest love as being wholly giving of itself. As Dr Tim Jennings has pointed out many times in his podcasts (www.comeandreason.com), this principle of giving is what lies is at the heart of God’s universe, and stands in polar opposition to the satanic principle of self-serving.
I like the fact that Jesus has linked obedience, love, friendship and joy in one glorious quintet of verses. From this I think Jesus is saying that without being in relationship of loving obedience, our joy can’t be complete. That’s quite a concept to digest!
How does this great theory stand up in practice? I know for myself that it is easy to be distracted from the paths of righteousness by some ‘new shiny thing’ and that sometimes the ritual of the ‘quiet time’ seems mundane. However on the other hand the shiny things of the world ultimately don’t satisfy, but Jesus does.
Anyway what do you think – is discipleship for you hard or easy, mundane or joyful, constant or erratic?
That’s it for this week – see you next time…
2 Comments
January 7, 2008 at 8:53 pm
On the ‘Come and Reason’ website they have an artists impression of Jesus washing the feet of the worlds big power figures such as Osama Bin Laden, George W Bush etc. They are using this image as part of their evangelistic campaign and on the podcast for this week’s lesson, the speaker said that apparently people have made comments such as ‘my Jesus wouldn’t do this’. Isn’t that interesting, that people (myself included) project onto God their own ideas about how He should treat others, as if He were made into our image.
God says that His thoughts are nothing like ours, and this makes me think that part of being a disciple is to submit to this very fact… the thoughts we have of others are not necessarily Gods and I know that that makes think that I desperately need the Holy Spirit to help me to understand the difference between my thoughts and His. Seeing an image such as this one that was used is definitely a bit of a test of our hearts as to whether we are Gods’ disciple.
Caz
January 7, 2008 at 9:47 pm
Hi Caz
Great thoughts.
The image you refer to is certainly confronting, especially Osama having his feet washed by Jesus.
The picture is great because it makes us re-think whether our idea of God stacks up against what we read in the Bible.
As I read your comment I was thinking whether I really believed Jesus would wash someone’s feet whose heart was set to do evil. Among His many statements of compassion, He had some harsh things to say – especially about hypocrites and those who cause others to sin/lose faith. For instance Jesus said “But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.” Matt 18:6 (NIV)
Well the topic of God’s mercy and justice requires more space and time than this comment allows, however in relation to the Osama question, I take comfort from the following quote from Ellen White which gets to the heart of Jesus’ heart. The quote is quite long, but it’s gold and worth the investment in reading…
“Jesus would give convincing proof that he understood perfectly the character of Judas, and that he had not withheld his ministry even from him whom he knew to be working to betray him into the hands of his enemies. And we have, in his example, the lesson that the ordinance of feet-washing is not to be deferred because there are some professed believers who are not cleansed from their sins. Christ knew the heart of Judas, yet he washed his feet. Infinite Love could do no more to bring Judas to repentance, and save him from taking this fatal step. If this service of his Master, in humbling himself to wash the feet of the worst sinner, did not break his heart, what more could be done? It was the last act of love that Jesus could evidence in behalf of Judas. Infinite Love could not compel Judas to repent, confess his sin, and be saved. Every opportunity was granted him. Nothing was left undone that could be done to save him from the snare of Satan.
Let all behold, in the boundless love of Christ, a long-suffering Saviour, who holds out every inducement for the sinner to receive him, repent, and be cleansed from the defilement of sin. We must understand that because we suppose one to be in error and sin, we are not to divorce ourselves from him, refuse to have any association with him, and make our suppositions prominent. The example of Christ will not sustain any one in these conclusions. Many a soul may be saved by further effort on the part of his brother; but a careless separation from him, leaving him exposed to the temptations of Satan, and driving him upon the devil’s battle-ground, is not the method of Christ. He sought to restore, not to destroy. … in washing their feet, he gave them evidence that he would do any service, however humble, in order to make them heirs together with him of all the eternal wealth of heaven’s treasure.” {Ellen White, Review and Herald, June 14, 1898 par. 10, 11}
Craig