Happy (almost) February! I can't believe January is gone. My half birthday is February 1st. That means I'm 6 months away from being 20 and entering a new decade. That is terrifying. Anyway, that is not the point of this post.
I'm in the Community Bible Study this quarter with the brilliant Dr. Nienhuis. We're studying Matthew. Before the class, I felt like I knew Matthew. I mean, it's a story of Jesus' life and I'd read it a million times. But, even though we're only 5 weeks into the quarter, my perspective on Matthew is being totally reshaped. Matthew is a book that completely stresses discipleship. The way that Matthew, the author, put the book together demonstrates what a true disciple of Jesus looks like and calls all believers to follow this model. Yeah, Christians call themselves disciples. But now that I've been exploring Matthew, I sadly see that we are not living up to the true call of discipleship.
First, let's look at the word "disciple." I googled what the Greek word for disciple is and answers.com gave me this: "mathetes. This comes from the verb manthano, to learn, hence its meaning 'one who follows one's teaching.' In the sense used it also implies not just one who follows teaching but also imitates the teacher." As Christians in America, we consider discipleship as learning. We think we are disciples by sitting through church and listening to the sermon. We think (and I am fully guilty of this, as well) that our intellectual pondering that occurs is the training that qualifies us as a disciple. But look at the definition of disciple from the Greek again. It isn't just someone who learns about the teacher. It's someone who imitates the teacher. It is an apprentice learning the work of the teacher by doing the same things the teacher did.
Think of it this way: Let's say that there was an influential American man and a lot of people loved what he was saying. Imagine that he was calling for change and wanted certain actions and behaviors to happen in this nation. Would the people who liked him and followed him just sit and think "Oh yeah, I like what he's saying! I'm going to follow him" but then not do what the man asked? No! They would do what he said. Don't believe me? Think about Martin Luther King Jr. He had a lot of support and people who believed his ideals. But they didn't just sit around saying they were supporters; they did what he called for by holding protests and putting on demonstrations. See my analogy? How can we as "followers" of Christ think that we are following Him just by saying that we do? If we truly follow Jesus and believe in what He said and did, then following Him would be doing what He did! How can we look at Jesus and His mind-blowing actions of love, grace, generosity, and mercy and not be absolutely compelled to do those actions as well?
Jesus clearly calls his disciples to do things like to not be at all attached to our money and to give it to those in need. He calls us to love our enemies. He tells us to not judge others. In modern-day America these things seem impossible. We hold on to our money, even though it's not ours in the first place. We dislike people and often do not show our enemies love and grace. We judge others, especially because we have the lens of Christianity to look through. It seems as though we can't do these things that Jesus calls us to d0. How can I logically give away half of my paycheck to someone who needs it? How can I love this person like Jesus would love them? Doing things like these seem absurd. But we have to. If we don't, we aren't true followers of Christ. We can't just have a sprinkling of Christianity in our lives but we must give Him our lives by imitating Him. We must be His apprentice and replicate His actions in our own lives.
I've been really convicted of this lately. I'm not a true disciple of Christ. Yeah, I support a child in Africa. Yes, I lead a small group. Sure, I smile at people who I don't really like. But am I acting like Christ did? Nope. And that needs to change. I can't really claim to follow Christ unless I live out His actions in my own life. I challenge you: really read what Jesus calls his disciples to do and to be. Take a look at what is holding you back in your life from imitating Christ. It'll scare you. It scares me. But then realize that we MUST strive to live this way. Jesus definitely does not say that we will master it perfectly and He doesn't say that we can reach the bar that is set so high. But he does say "Trust me and jump."
Pray for me as I learn what it truly looks like to be a disciple of Christ, especially in modern-day America. It'll look a little radical, but it's what I (and we as Christians) have to do.
"Then he said to them all, 'If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it.'" - Luke 9:23-24
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