I wonder how many of us professing Christians truly think about discipleship? I believe it is fair to say that we live in a time and place where it is quite easy to be a follower of Jesus. We can meet freely and publically, we can download a plethora of sermons from iTunes, we have multiple Bible translations not only in our homes but also on our phones and computers… yeah, for the most part, it is easy being a Christian here in America. In fact, it is for this reason that in contrasting “Christian America” to “discipleship according to Jesus” I find myself greatly challenged, Am I a disciple of Jesus?
Speaking to His disciples about this topic Jesus questioned them and said, “Who do people say that I am?” They responded with what they had heard, “Some say John the Baptist, but perhaps Elijah the prophet or any one of the prophets of old.” “But who do you say that I am?” Jesus prodded. And then the great confession of Peter, the outspoken disciple, “You are the Christ.” It was after this clarification was made – that Jesus was in fact THE Christ, the long-awaited for fulfillment of prophecy – that He told His disciples what was going to happen to Him. He would suffer many things, be rejected, betrayed, unjustly killed and three days later He would rise again. And Peter, so quick to speak, rebuked Jesus for what He said. You are the King, the Messiah, the Christ, you cannot die! You are to restore the kingdom! Isn’t that why you have come? And with great firmness and absoluteness Jesus said, “Get behind me Satan; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.”
It is at this point that Jesus turned to the crowd, the masses that followed Him (for He was well spoken and a miracle worker after all), that He instructed them in the way of discipleship – “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and for the gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? For what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Mark 8, NASB).
For the past few days I have been reading a book written by Alan Hirsch called The Forgotten Ways. I have to say that I have been both greatly challenged as well as affirmed by this reading. The following quote in particular speaks well to our lack of discipleship within the American Church today:
“For the follower of Jesus, discipleship is not the first step toward a promising career. It is in itself the fulfillment of his or her destiny. We never move from being a disciple on-the-way. And yet it seems as if we find little place for radical discipleship in our life together as believers. At best, we tend to think of it as something we do with young converts. The dilemma we face today in regard to this issue is that while we have a historical language of discipleship, our actual practice of discipleship is far from consistent, and as a result this mismatch tends to obscure the centrality of the problem” – the problem being the ineffectiveness of the Church in calling people to Christ to live transformed lives, thus, being holy and Christ-like (The Forgotten Ways, Alan Hirsch, p. 103).
“Discipleship is NOT the first step toward a promising career.” I suppose it isn’t all that promising according to the world to deny making a name for yourself so that we may pick up our cross, the cross being a sign of suffering and difficulty, in order that we may follow the Master and live for the name of another. Save your life and lose it, said Jesus, but lose your life for My sake and the gospel and you’ll save it. Have these powerful words of Jesus simply become lip service of the Church today? Shouldn’t we seek to actually practice these teachings that Christ calls us to? I fear that we have become all too content and complacent within the Church of America today. Are the lives of those “in” the church truly transformed? Are we really living a life that is radically different than those who don’t know Christ as Lord? Is our commitment to marriage or the family truly any different than those of our non-believing neighbors? Are we not getting divorced just as much as those outside the Church? And dare we speak of our use of money and time as we live in a self-centered, materialistically-saturated world… yes, those in the Church just as much as those outside the Church.
My heart longs for the Church to be the true Bride of Christ! I long for disciples to truly forsake all things for Christ and the gospel. I long that we may truly be satisfied in Him as we taste His sweetness and goodness. Oh, how I long that our lives may be transformed as the disciples of old, so whether we live or die, Christ will be our aim and joy. Oh Church, let us wake and make ourselves ready for the coming of the Groom! May our lives and all that we are be lived for His great glory and honor as we seek His will in all that we do!
By Eric Basye
