Why Discipleship?

Descipleship

33So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.

– Luke 14:33

20For you have been bought for a price: therefore glorify God in your body.

– 1 Corinthians 6:20
(NASB® © 2020)

You should think about discipleship, …

  • … because it’s important to the Lord Jesus!

Imagine someone you love talking about the same topic repeatedly.   They hope you’ll become interested and give it some thought. Why do they do this? Maybe the subject is crucial to them, and they also want to make it essential to you.

This is why Jesus talked a lot about discipleship. The term “disciple” appears more than 200 times in the Gospels. It shows up another 30 times in the Acts of the Apostles. You will repeatedly come across the theme of discipleship in the epistles. It is a significant matter to the Lord! Do you contemplate discipleship often?  The Lord speaks about it extensively. Do you hear His voice? “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” (Luke 14:35)

  • … because it’s about everything.

It cannot be more radical: give up everything you have, deny yourself, and stop living for yourself. Lose your life to gain it (Luke 14:33; 9:23-24). The Lord directly speaks to us with these words!

If a pharmacist gave you medicine with a warning to follow the instructions on the package leaflet or risk losing your life, what would you do? You would sit at home, wide awake and in good lighting, and read through the instructions carefully several times, including the fine print. The pharmacist is only concerned with your physical well-being on earth.

But the words of the Lord Jesus about discipleship are infinitely more important because they determine the meaning and value of your life, not only here and now but for eternity! Therefore, Let the light of eternity shine on the “how-to” for your life, and read even the uncomfortable ones! You have only one life!

  • … because it affects all areas of your life.

No area of life is excluded from this.

  • The closest family relationships included Father, mother, wife, children, brother, and sister. (Luke 14:26)
  • All that I possess: “So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.” (Luke 14:33)
  • Even my body and my health no longer belong to me – my whole life belongs to Him: “For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body.” (1 Cor 6:20)

Someone once said it well: “The salvation of my soul costs me nothing; discipleship costs me everything. What area are you leaving out, perhaps unconsciously, because you have never dealt with discipleship?

  • … because you don’t become a disciple by doing nothing.

You don’t wake up one morning and become a disciple. Nothing comes from nothing. You have to want to be a disciple. The Lord says again and again: “Whoever desires to come after Me…” (Mk 8:34; Lk 9:23) He also challenges you personally: “Follow me!” (John 21:22) A conscious decision is required! Have you already decided? Do you follow the Lord Jesus?

  • … because you should make disciples.

The mission is clearly stated: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…” (Mt 28:19). We are to make disciples. The commission is addressed to all Christians without exception – including you!

But how can we fulfill the commission if we don’t know what a disciple is or how to make disciples? Imagine a salesperson going out to get new customers without knowing what a customer is. Unimaginable! But that’s how many Christians live: they have a mission to make disciples but don’t know how or what that means. When the salesman is fired for lack of sales figures and says he didn’t know what a customer was, he will be told: “Why didn’t you ask?

________________________

What about you? Do you know what a disciple is and how to disciple others? Are you working on your assignment?

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