Living in Increase (Part 3) - Increase in PurposeÀpẹrẹ

Called to Discipleship

As Christians, we are called to be disciples of Christ. A disciple is a follower, meaning “learner” or “student” of another. There is nothing casual about discipleship. It is intentional and requires sacrifice on all of our parts. Jesus tells His disciples, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24). In this verse, Jesus says that following Him requires commitment. You cannot continue to go about life as usual once you accept Him as Lord.

Think of a challenging class that required commitment to earn a good grade. You had to study, talk to other students, speak to the teacher, and work outside regular school hours. Ultimately, your reward was that your hard work paid off; you got a good grade!

While discipleship takes commitment, we do not “earn” our reward as we would earn a good grade. Instead, our reward for following Christ comes from simply believing He is who He is. The Apostle Paul says in Romans 10:9, “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” You don’t have to work for the ultimate prize: reconciliation with God that leads to eternal life. You have to believe. We become students of the Gospel because God first loved us (1 John 4:19). Love compels us to learn the object of our affection. Love encourages us to sacrifice for those whom we love. Disciples want to be molded into the image of Christ. We must know Christ to know that we are being molded in His image versus living in deception.

Finally, Jesus says, “By this, all people will know that you are My disciples: if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). Being called to discipleship is being called to love.

You have been called to discipleship.

Ruby Washington

Action Step: Connect with someone to meet one-on-one. Commit to learning together.