Discipleship has two sides to it
Discipleship has two sides to it. 1st there is the person we are following, being discipled so that we can become like that person, in this case, Jesus Christ. And 2nd there are the people we are walking along with, nurturing their spiritual journeys, being there for them, discipling them. For discipleship is about community, a community of faith, an ever-widening group of adherents, all centered around one person, Jesus Christ. It’s never just about me and Christ or you and Christ, we are joining a community and helping to spread the word. Whether we are talking about John and Peter and the other original disciples or Paul and Timothy and all the people they drew to Christ all those centuries ago or now in the 21st century, there is still the One we are following and modeling our lives after and the ones we are traveling with, supporting in their journeys, too.
Who are you discipling? And who is discipling you? Who do you walk along with? Who are you drawing to the Lord? These are the questions we followers of Jesus should be asking ourselves on this ever-deepening journey. There is no point short of our death when we will not be growing into the mind of Christ, that is, if we are truly following Jesus. For being a human being means that we have so many layers, in our conscious and unconscious minds of stuff, of walls of protection, of ego-centricity—all of which stand between us and God. So, as we follow Jesus, we are learning new ways of viewing the world and other people, we are letting go of our guilt and shame, we are being healed of all that troubles us, we are being prepared to live 100% in His presence, as we let go of all the human/world stuff in us. All this takes time. And our consent. For God does not just barge into a person and whip him or her into shape. He wants our consent, our partnership with Him in living our lives; so He waits until we’re ready to address this issue and that one.
How is your discipleship going? Are you dragging your feet? Or willing to go wherever Jesus would lead you? Jesus instructed His followers to not take any money or possessions with them—to travel light. In His time rabbis and followers were a frequent visitor to various villages and the people welcomed them and fed and probably housed them, too. All the rabbi and his followers needed would be provided because they were teaching wherever they went the Torah, the Prophets and the other writings in the Old Testament. And so we need to take little for our journeys, too, for He will provide all our needs. All we have to do is to lean on Him for all that we need and engage with Him and follow His lead. Then help others on the way. Then we are true disciples.
And how is your discipling going? Are you walking with another person(s) in love? Or judgment? In valuing their story or finding fault with it? Are you praying for that person to reveal all that he/she is to Christ so that He might heal all that stands between them? We need each other on this journey to guide and enlighten and to mainly walk with us, so that we are not alone.