Introduction
I have been thinking about discipleship. Discipleship is a word that we hear a lot in “church circles”. Sad to say, many believers do not understand what God intends when it comes to discipleship. Too often we think of discipleship in terms of “us” and what we do for God. “I am a disciple because I go to church; I am a disciple because I listen to the message; I am a disciple because I serve in this area or have led this outreach.” I see two problems with this view of discipleship. First of all, it takes away the relational element. Discipleship is about a relationship, not what we do for God. Imagine, a man who loved his wife dearly decided to show her his love. He bought her nice gifts, gave her wonderful complements, and completed everything on her “honey do” list, only he never talked to her. She would undoubtedly be flattered to receive his affection, but there is one element missing — relationship. It is the same way with God. Sometimes we make discipleship all about what we have done for God without ever trying to establish a relationship with Him. But He sent His Son to come and be like us; He wants a relationship!
The second problem I see with how many Christians view discipleship is that they make it only about them. True discipleship is not about me! We live in a very individualistic society that makes it difficult for us think beyond ourselves, but discipleship is about more than us! In fact, if your discipleship does not cause you to look outside yourself and invest in another person than I would argue that you may not be a disciple altogether, at least not in the way Jesus would have envisioned a disciple. Jesus expects disciples to make other disciples, not to just keep taking in and taking in. To consume is not only selfish, it is also ungodly! This is a major part of Christ’s commission to His followers in Matthew 28, which we call the great commission. Christ says: Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to follow all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Notice the command—go and make disciples. Our mission is not simply to be disciples, we are to make disciples. We are to duplicate and multiply!
Final Thoughts
Many different thoughts come to one’s mind today when it comes to discipleship. But the heart of God has always been for followers of Jesus to build a relationship with Him and then reproduce other followers of Jesus. This is His mission for us! I hope that you recognize the command and call of God upon your life to not just do things for God, but to relate to Him. As you do so, I trust you will also recognize your mission to make other followers of Christ who will devote their lives in service to Him!
