I’m a Disciple and I’m Sorry

I am a disciple of Jesus. But before I get into the apology, I should state that I’ve always wanted to be one. Look at them. Biblical legends. Walking on water, tongues of fire, healing, communing with Jesus. And why shouldn’t they have been? He took every opportunity to teach them. He sought their company and even asked for their prayers.

I guess where it went wrong for me is that I kept reading after the Sunday School excerpt stopped. Before Peter could walk on the water, he had to question Jesus first. In an act of both doubt and testing, he asked, “if it is you, command me to walk on the water”. If? Jesus had already announced who it was. But lets cut him some slack, maybe a translation problem made it sound worse than it really was.

So he walks on water. Jesus commanded him, he stepped on faith (what an amazing testament to faith, by the way… it’s why he is a Bible icon after all), but just a few steps and the wind reminded Peter that his legs are meant for land. His faith exited stage left and his fears jumped into the driver seat. Then he sank into the water. But as he began to plummet, he still managed a final plea, “Lord, save me!”. More faith? No. Desperation. Faith kept him above the water, fear drug him into it. Submission to fear caused him to cry out.

I don’t think I’m taking things too harshly or literally here, after all, Jesus had to rebuke Peter for his lack of faith. Now, it goes on to say that after the wind died down (because Jesus made it), that they all believed. Here is the problem. Peter believed… until it got difficult. Then he returned to his pre-Jesus ways of living. How is that heroic?

But, it’s not just Peter. It’s all of them. I should have started with the worst of all… Judas. Do we even remember that he was a disciple? I think most of us just frown at the sound of his name and move on. What about doubting Thomas who demanded evidence over faith? The disciples in bulk tried to send a woman seeking healing away because she was “crying out to them”. When they couldn’t heal a demon possessed man, Jesus seemingly mocked their dismay with the reason of their failure… they did not have the faith that the healing required.

They argued over who was the greatest among them, they desired to know the forgiveness limit, they tried to stop the children from getting to Jesus, they denied Him, rebuked Him, questioned Him, abandoned Him, tried to stop others from working in His name… our heroes. Our Bible legends. In all of their mistakes and selfishness.

Through the power of Jesus, these men did amazing and miraculous things. Through the power of the tempter and great liar, they did horrible and despicable things. The same men. One great feat followed by a giant failure, later to be followed by an amazing miracle. Why? How?

1. Jesus did not wait until the men were perfect before leaving them to their mission. They were still human when he left them. We are still human now.
2. They were never expected to be perfect this side of heaven. Neither are we. They were forgiven and still maintained the company of the Savior even after massive regression to sin, fear, and doubt… we too are forgivable, and can maintain our relationship with Jesus even after we mess up.

I feel like I must apologize. I’ve made the same mistakes. As someone who claims Jesus in His life and has read and experienced such amazing things… I still have fear and doubt and struggles… just like the disciples. And in one way, I am incredible proud to be one:

1. They never stopped following Him… even after He went to a place they could not physically follow. Neither should we.

So while we are human and imperfect, just like our predecessors, I pray we remember this truth… that while we are in the company of the Savior we can enjoy all of what makes him our Lord, including forgiveness. Go easy on yourself at times. There is only one Jesus… the rest of us are Peters and Judases. Flawed, yet in the Master’s presence.

I pray you find encouragement and also resolve to strive to learn. While they made many mistakes, each one was a learning opportunity. Don’t neglect the teaching moments.

How Is Your Cake Built?

Teachers prepare young minds to take on new trades. Disciples prepare themselves to be like the Master. If you have ever wondered why we aren’t successful in “teaching” the Bible, it’s largely because no one wants to know the Bible as a profession. God sent His Son, not to share facts, but to define love and point to the Father. If we are His disciples, what is our job? Hermeneutics? Theology? Exegesis?

We can answer this by quoting Jesus in ‘the great commission’. “Go into all the world and make”…. Teachers? Scholars? Friends?… No. “Disciples”. Followers of Jesus. And how did Jesus teach us this? By example. Go into the world and be like Jesus because He came into this world to be our sacrifice after showing us how to live first. Teachers are great at giving knowledge. Disciples enlighten with every decision of every day. Every choice, each breath, and all the words spoken will show the world who we point to.

When we point to the Bible first and foremost, its like insisting that bakers understand how to shape fondant before they know how to mix batter. We want them to be able to whip up amazingly detailed and beautiful cake architecture that is appealing to the eyes… but we forgot to show them how to craft the foundation that holds up the masterpiece we insist they create.

How would you build your cake? Start with sprinkles? Watch YouTube videos on piping frosting? Purchase the best fork? That sounds silly doesn’t it? As amazing, powerful, and wonderful as the Bible is, it wasn’t designed to be the first point of contact for the world to meet Jesus.

Try opening it up and reading it like a normal book (which is what normal people will do). After a few interesting chapters we start getting into genealogies, lineages, timelines, geography… and to be quite honest… it doesn’t pick back up for a few hundred pages. What if you went to see the next big summer blockbuster movie and after a few explosions they started detailing new tax laws and math equations?

The firm foundation we build our cake on is Jesus. That personal relationship with Him is everything. With that established, the words penned in the Bible can be life changing. But shouting commands and referencing parables to people who haven’t yet seen the Master will be just as crazy as trying to put a cake topper on before the frosting. We have to show them the Master.

When Jesus wanted to teach us about being servants, He knelt down and washed feet. When He wanted to explain how to love, He ate with sinners and tax collectors. When the Son of God decided it was time to show what a sacrifice meant… He yielded to His accusers and faced the cross alone.

We don’t become like Jesus by quoting scripture. We become like Jesus (Christ-like… aka, Christians) by acting like Him in every aspect of our lives. He came to us and pointed to the Father. How can we be that to the world?

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Photo by Thomas William on Unsplash

Disciple vs. Punishment vs. Teaching

We are told to make disciples.  Matthew 28:19 says, “Go, and make disciples”.  Pretty nifty segue, huh?

I’ve always learned that to disciple is to teach.  And there is a stark contrast between teaching and punishing.  Punishment is typically more about anger, revenge and control.  The lesson gathered is usually the wrong lesson.  It’s about interactions with the punisher more than it is about a greater life issue.

For example, if a child spills a cup and gets yelled at, they are more likely to learn that the parents are angry people that need to be avoided.  A more timid personality could develop (or a more defiant one).  It’s likely that the lesson of ‘be more careful’ or ‘pay attention’, etc. is not deposited correctly when punishment is used.

And the whole goal of disciplining is to teach.  When used in the Bible, there is typically the disciple and the follower.  So you aren’t just teaching, you are leading.  They aren’t just trying to learn one or two things, they are trying to be just like you.  which begins to answer the most important question… why not just use the word, ‘teach’?  When one word defines another, why not just use the other word?

The word, ‘teach’ is in the Bible, but it doesn’t make sense where ‘disciple’ is used.  Part of being a disciple is being a leader.  Not all teachers are good leaders.  They have the facts but not the heart.  Even more important is what we are teaching and how we are teaching it.  Lets start with the what.

If I wanted to learn math, I would find a math teacher.  If I wanted to learn about cars, I would find a mechanic (also a teacher).  Schools teach.  They provide knowledge.  If I want to learn about God, I can also go to a school.  There are many factual details to be learned that can come from book and scholar.  But what if I want to become a Christian?

Being a Christian requires and is defined by a personal relationship with God.  This isn’t taught.  You can’t test your way into heaven.  This is shown.  Personally.  Through example, testimony, lifestyle choices, prayer, discipline… aha, that word again.  Discipline.  Discipline is not just used to teach, its used to inform upon souls the most precious things of this world.  The most important things.

And how is this done?  With love.  The greatest command.  Screaming on internet forums or arguing on social media has yielded 0 positive results.  I don’t have to look that number up.  No one has come to Christ by being judged, ridiculed, and punished by ‘church-folk’.  But they do take note when they see people loving others.  Sharing food, clothes, shelter… just like Jesus said He would judge us by (Matt 25:44).

I don’t feel like this is a particularly revelatory message.  But I also find I don’t adequately work to separate the different meanings of those words we use all the time. Without putting much thought into it we could likely argue that punishment, discipline, and teaching are fairly synonymous.  But what vast differences they carry when you consider the mission, the message, and the method.

You might note that the disciples were followers of Jesus.  Many will assume a disciple is a follower and that is true.  But only in regards to whom we are following.  And this is exactly why disciples are leaders.  We are on the way to Jesus.  And He commanded we bring others with us.  We are leaders, in that, we are on the right path to salvation.

We are leading with a message that transcends book knowledge (more like a way of live, a way of eternal life) and we present the message with love.  This is discipline.  This is to be a disciple.  This is what God wants more of.  “Go and make disciples of  all nations”.

You Weren’t Worth it!

What if you were the one:

The one that Christians saw and got cold feet.

The one that believers passed by because they were afraid.

The one that everyone thought was ok.

The one that people just assumed didn’t need anything.

The one were folks reasoned, “I’ll talk to the next one”.

The one the church forgot.

The one that disciples neglected.

The one that was just another one that will find God some other way.

The one whose eternal fate wasn’t worth stopping for.

The one the rest of the world just didn’t have time for.

The one that every one else avoided eye contact with.

What if that person were you?  Would you object?  Would you enjoy knowing that others believe in eternal Heaven and Hell and yet didn’t bother to speak to you?  Spend some time today, and instead of trying to motivate yourself to be the good person… think about what if you weren’t.  Consider the impact of NOT doing anything from the other direction.  Can you walk past a starving person and throw food in the trash?  Can you enjoy laughter around those grieving?  Can you truly carry the Joy of Christ Jesus around so many lost… and not say anything… or do anything?

What if you weren’t worth it?  What if Jesus was not in your life?  What if you had no hope?  What if you had no future?  What if you had no relationship with the Father?  You were worth it!  You were worth the life Jesus spent away from God.  You were worth His sacrifice.  You were worth His death.  And they are too.  They are worth some discomfort and potentially awkward conversations.  They are worth your time.  They are worth your prayers.  You were worth it… and so are they!

Disciple up!  It’s not called the optional task on Sundays.  It’s not called the mediocre commission.  It’s called the Great Commission!