Discipleship

October 2, 2006 

God has called all of us to discipleship. He wants us to spread the good news. The good news is that God forgives and wants to use us for His honor and glory. He wants us all to learn of Him and follow after Him. We are called to move when He moves and be listening to His voice and ready to hear His instruction. God is our leader, provider, helper, and guide through life. We should all be His disciples, meaning ones who are ready and willing to do His will and serve Him through with our words and deeds.

The path of discipleship is not an easy one to follow. Jesus� disciple Peter knew first hand that discipleship involves many turns, bumpy roads, and unexpected discoveries along the way. When Jesus called him from his fishing nets to follow him, Peter left everything that he knew to follow Christ into the unknown. Peter took the opportunity of a lifetime to be one of Jesus' first disciples. He has privileged us to be a first hand witness to the many miracles of Jesus. He saw Jesus cure the blind and the lame, cast out evil spirits, and feed thousands of people with just a few fish and a few loaves of bread. Peter even witnessed Jesus healing his very own mother-in-law. It was Peter who first identified Jesus as the Messiah. At times Peter got it, but at other times his efforts as a disciple resulted in misunderstanding and mistakes.

Peter was not the perfect disciple. He was an ordinary guy who fished for a living. Jesus did not select him to become one of the first twelve disciples because he had many educational degrees, nor because he had a impressive resume and list of references. Jesus was not concerned with these things. He knew the real training and preparation would be learned on the road. Despite Peter's eagerness and genuine desire to be a good disciple, sometimes his good intentions fell flat. It was Peter that fell asleep while Jesus was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. It was Peter who saw Jesus walking on water and after going out to meet him, fell into the water after being attacked by fear and doubt. It was Peter who one night argued for the position of the greatest disciple and the very next day denied Christ three times.

Peter is a good example for us today. He was an eager follower of Christ who sought to live in a way that was pleasing to God, but sometimes his humanness got in the way. Like each of us, he was susceptible to fear, envy, and despair. In no way was Peter the perfect and blameless disciple. Peter teaches us that one can have faults and still be a faithful disciple of Christ. Discipleship does not require us to be the brightest and the best, nor blameless before God, nor above our human tendencies. Rather the keys of being a good disciple are humility, growth, and commitment.

Humility, growth, and commitment are the keys to discipleship.

1. Humility - We must be willing to submit ourselves to Christ and trust that Christ will show us the way. This does not mean that we follow Christ without thinking rather that we ask sincere questions and seek to understand the mysteries of faith.

2. Growth - Do you remember when you first learned to ride a bike? I am sure that in those early days you fell off a lot. Nobody hops on a bike for the first time and immediately rides like Lance Armstrong. This does not happen in bike riding, nor in discipleship. Being a disciple of Christ is a long process. We must be willing to hop on and start peddling even though we know that we will mess up along the way. Without growing, we will never know the joy and benefit of being a disciple of Jesus Christ.

3. Commitment - Without commitment we will give up after our first failure. We will never grow in the love and knowledge of Jesus Christ. Christ is committed to us regardless of us having all the answers and being perfect in every way. Christ is not looking for the blameless; rather he is looking for those that will be committed to keep on believing, no matter how bumpy the ride of discipleship becomes.

This week examine your own call to discipleship. Remember you do not have to be perfect for God to use you, just willing!

For more information

Rev. Leigh Martin
College Chaplain
Hasty Student Life Center, Room 308
lsm@reinhardt.edu
O: 770.720.5634
F:  770.720.9105