Tuesday, June 21, 2022

Being a disciple....




"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."
2 Timothy 4:7

The apostle Paul wrote this to Timothy at the end of his ministry....at the end of his life.

I woke with the thought of running a race. I've pondered, actually grieved, about how my beloved and I would go for a run outside or run side by side on the treadmills at the rec center. I think about the perseverance it took...the stamina, the endurance....the work, the want to, the desire to be fit and healthy....our main goal was to be healthy and available to our children and grandchildren.

I'm not surprised that's God's Word talks about our walk with Him being a race....one that takes training, endurance, perseverance, stamina but even before that a desire and a "want to" attitude.....with the goal of serving the kingdom in a manner worthy to Him. To be the best we can be....to win... "the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day --- and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing." (2 Timothy 4:8)

In Matthew, Jesus lays out The Great Commission. He tells the Apostles:

“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


My question: What does that look like for me?

And wow....where my study went from there (from MY original thought) in typical God style, He showed me, not what I was curious about, not what I thought I wanted to know, not what information I thought I wanted to share, but what HE wanted to TEACH ME.

And that's why, what I write and what I share is not from me. I'm really so happy about that....truly I am.

I'm sitting at an odd time in my life ...it's fairly quiet right now....I'm spending a ton of time in the Word of God. Filling myself, learning, submitting, embracing the quiet, the aloneness....but a beautiful albeit scary opportunity is peaking through a small crack in the door which makes, what life looks like now, very, very essential.

So what exactly does The Great Commission mean to me? I surely don't feel called to the ends of the earth. What actually does "go and make disciples" look like for the average Christ follower?

Google the definition of "disciple" and you will find many, many responses...across many, many resources. So what is a disciple of Christ? Am I one? And, if so, what am I called to do?

Disciple - In Christianity, disciple primarily refers to a dedicated follower of Jesus. This term is found in the New Testament only in the Gospels and Acts. In the ancient world, a disciple is a follower or adherent of a teacher. Discipleship is not the same as being a student in the modern sense. A disciple in the ancient biblical world actively imitated both the life and teaching of the master. It was a deliberate apprenticeship which made the fully formed disciple a living copy of the master.
(Hebrew meaning)

I'm reminded here that Matthew 28:19 says, "Therefore, go and MAKE disciples" clearly intimating that you aren't, BAM! a disciple. Disciples are MADE! I like the last sentence of the above Hebrew meaning of disciple - A DELIBERATE APPRENTICESHIP WHICH MADE THE FULLY FORMED DISCIPLE A LIVING COPY OF THE MASTER.

Being a disciple of Christ first means I must be a dedicated follower of Jesus. Then I must actively imitate the life and teaching of Christ. Obviously this is where the above mentioned race comes in....where perseverance produces endurance and endurance hope...that I may be filled to the brim....so that, I become a living copy of the Master.

Answering the call of The Great Commission is no joke. Read about the lives of Peter and Paul...it's hard work, unappreciated toil not only by strangers but sometimes your peers and fellow workers. It's grueling work... laborious....In a world where recognition is the name of the game and that extra bonus in your paycheck is the goal....being a disciple for Christ might seem quite harsh.

Jesus brought the good news to us, he died for us....a horrific death... despised and rejected....he came to earth to do the will of his Father not to be recognized in the ways we strive for recognition.

Paul says:

"I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead."
Philippians 3:10‭-‬11


"The apostle Paul’s singular ambition in life was to know Jesus Christ experientially. More than merely acquiring superficial head-knowledge, Paul wanted to connect with Jesus on the closest possible relational level“
Gotquestions.org

Do I? Is my desire to FIRST KNOW Christ, intimately, relationally, experientially?

And just like God is able to do, creating a seamless circle back to the beginning, I can ask myself these questions:

•Am I willing to run the race set before me?
•Do I want to KNOW Christ and the power of his resurrection?
•Am I willing to fight the good fight
•Am I up for the challenge (for it is a formidable one) to do what it takes to be a dedicated disciple?

What a beautiful morning to ponder on such questions.

Have a beautiful day. 🥰

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