The question of discipleship stirred in my spirit today…
Precisely… What is the goal of discipleship…?
Posing the question here… moved me to look for discipleship’s definition…
Christian discipleship is the process by which disciples grow in the Lord Jesus Christ and are equipped by the Holy Spirit, who resides in our hearts, to overcome the pressures and trials of this present life and become more and more Christlike.
According to this definition… the goal is to become Christlike…
To be more and more like Jesus… who lived wholly in connection with His Father… by the power of the Holy Spirit…
This process requires believers to respond to the Holy Spirit’s prompting to examine their thoughts, words and actions and compare them with the Word of God. This requires that we be in the Word daily—studying it, praying over it, and obeying it.
–More of the definition of discipleship from GotQuestions.org*
There is no checklist… no specific path… for each Believer to follow… for we are called to follow the Holy Spirit in the process… and His path is never straightforward… or predictable…
“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” –Jesus
John 3:5-8 ESV
There are some basics… beginning with believing in Him… and Christian practices such as… prayer and submission to the authority of Scripture… both of which involve relying on the Holy Spirit…
But mostly I think… it’s living your life for God the Father… just like Jesus…
God is love…
Obedience to God is how He defines love…
Jesus clearly… wholeheartedly… loved the Father… living a life of perfect obedience… even unto death on a cross…
So… perhaps… the goal of discipleship… is wholehearted love of God…
Embodying the greatest commandment… according to Jesus… seems like a great goal for every disciple…
Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.’ …”
Mark 12:29-30 ESV
In loving the Father with all our being… we become like Jesus…
Becoming a wholehearted lover of God…
A fine pursuit for any disciple of Christ…
That’s my goal…
To be known first and foremost as… a lover of God…
How ever… He leads me to love Him…
Amen…
[Note… I wholly recommend following the link to GotQuestions.org to read their answer to the question… What is Christian Discipleship?… in its entirety…]
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