Discipleship

This Summer, we have been looking at  discipleship and what it means for us today. Our faith is a gift from God and as we look at our life and the situations that we find ourselves in we know that God is with us. He has given us everything that  we need and for everything that He has in store for us. What an awesome God we have and how much He loves us and cares for us. We never have to worry about Him leaving us or forgetting us. God is our parent and he is always looking out for us and doing what is best for us. 

The word used in the New Testament for disciple is mathetes. The word means learner or disciple and is a technical term for the followers of Jesus. It is also used for the followers of John the Baptist, Moses, and the pharisees. In the New Testament world, a disciple would join themselves to a rabbi, or  teacher, becoming a part of his school. This involved leaving behind the life they had known and spending all of their time with their rabbi. In a sense, it was like going off to college. They wanted to learn everything they could about their rabbi, what he knew, how he thought, how he talked and how he handled different situations. 

What you see in Jesus and his disciples was typical of the rabbi/disciple relationship in New Testament Judea. Being a disciple was a full-time occupation. Those disciples were called to leave their home and occupation behind and follow Jesus, learning what he had to teach them. 

Being a disciple was not an end in itself. A disciple was ultimately expected to follow in their rabbi’s footsteps, becoming a rabbi himself. And, in turn, teaching other disciples what they had learned and were learning.

So through our Baptism,  we are called to be disciples of Jesus Christ.  We are called to follow after Jesus and to learn from HIM- to do what he would do. If we are going to get to know Him, then we need to spend time with him, and to learn from Him everything that we can. 

We read about the disciples and all that they had done and it is easy to think that it was easier to live their faith back then. Then we realize that God has put us right where he needs us and has given us the gifts and talents that we need to accomplish all that he has in store for us. We just need to learn from Him. 

Our desire should be to be in church and studying the Bible, so that we can learn all that we can about Him so that we can share it with others. We need to treat everyone as a child of God- To teach them how to have a relationship with Him and to show them God’s calling is a gift. We are Jesus’s hands and feet and we need to walk the way that He would and treat everyone the way that He treats us. 

Discipleship is a big responsibility and an honor. We need not take it lightly and treat the gift with care. God does not make mistakes. He has called YOU for a reason. The more we center our life on Him the greater our discipleship can grow.

Hope to see you all in church every Sunday at 9:00. 

God Bless 
Rev. Stephen W. Barch