Lukas 24: 50-53

Lukas 24: 50-53 Daarna het Hy hulle uit die stad uitgelei tot by Betanië. Daar het Hy sy hande opgehef en hulle geseën. Terwyl Hy hulle seën, het Hy van hulle af weggegaan en is Hy in die hemel opgeneem. Hulle het Hom aanbid en met groot blydskap na Jerusalem toe teruggegaan. Daar het hulle die hele tyd by die tempel gebly en God geprys. Jesus, verwys ons Skrifgedeelte, lei sy dissipels na die buitewyke van Bethanie. Daar neem Hy van hulle afskeid. Ek wonder waaroor sou hulle langs die pad gesels het. Miskien sou Jesus sommige vrae antwoord, gerusstelling gee, verdere opdragte en vertroosting. Hy sou sekerlik sy waardering betuig vir die drie jaar van noue vriendskap wat tussen hulle ontwikkel het. Hulle sou op hul beurt hul liefde en waardering vir Hom betuig. Miskien sou hulle lekker lag oor interessante, selfs humoristiese oomblikke wat hulle met mekaar gedeel het terwyl Jesus tussen mense rondgegaan het. Die Bybel gee nie detail nie, maar dit is tog interessant om daaroor na te dink. Nou is dit tyd vir afskeid neem. Lukas vertel dat Jesus sy hande uitgebrei het en al seënende van hul afskeid geneem het. Dit moes ’n onuitwisbare indruk op hulle gemaak het. Die laaste prentjie wat in hul geheue bly vassteek is die van ’n Jesus wat seën. Wat die inhoud daarvan was, daaroor kan ons net teoretiseer. Miskien was dit die bekende woorde van Numeri 6. 24“Die Here sal julle seën en julle beskerm; 25die Here sal tot julle redding verskyn en julle genadig wees; 26die Here sal julle gebede verhoor en aan julle vrede gee! Miskien was dit die mooi Franciskaanse seën. Mag die Here jou seën met ongemak oor maklike antwoorde, halwe waarhede en oppervlakkige verhoudings sodat jy uit die diepte van jou hart kan leef; Mag die Here jou seën met woede oor onreg, onderdrukking en die uitbuiting van mense sodat jy kan werk vir geregtigheid, vryheid en vrede; Mag die Here jou seën met trane om te stort vir mense wat pyn, verwerping, honger en oorlog ervaar sodat jy ‘n hand kan uitreik en hulle pyn in blydskap kan verander. En mag God jou seën met genoeg dwaasheid om te glo dat jy ‘n verskil kan maak in hierdie wêreld, sodat jy dinge sal kan doen wat ander mense dink nie gedoen kan word nie. Wat ook al die inhoud daarvan was, dit sou gepas en tersaaklik wees. Essensieël sou dit ’n belofte van Jesus se voortdurende betrokkenheid en sorg by en met hulle wees. Daar kan geen twyfel wees dat daardie seënbede aan hulle die nodige stukrag verleen het om die toekoms met geloofsmoed tegemoet te gaan nie. Is die prentjie wat jy van Jesus het ook een van Iemand wat jou in alle opsigte wil seën?

Discipleship Is a Lifelong Journey

Discipleship Is a Lifelong Journey

Discipleship is a lifelong journey because God is an inexhaustible God. We began by saying that God is the goal of discipleship. We must end by saying that, since we can never fully comprehend all that God is, we will never “arrive” this side of eternity. Even then, we will spend endless days drinking in the fountains of God’s beauty and glory.

God is where we’re going, and God is how we’re going to get there. Whether we are standing on the shore, just beginning our discipleship journey, or hoping to swim into the depths of Christian maturity, we want more. Not more than Jesus, but more of Jesus. We want more of him because he is not just good to us; most importantly, he is good for us.

Discipleship should be deep because God is inexhaustible. He invites his church into rich and deep fellowship because his goodness is indeed bottomless, and you can never exhaust the bottomless beauty of God. Along with Paul we proclaim, “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!” (Rom. 11:33). The invitation to deep, holistic discipleship is first and foremost an invitation to see God for who he is, 

A Disciple Grows in Spiritual Habits

A Disciple Grows in Spiritual Habits

The next indispensable element of deep discipleship is growth in spiritual habits, or spiritual disciplines. Like theology, the word disciplines might have a negative connotation, but I’d like to recast that by thinking of these disciplines as habits.

Like theology, we all have habits. And we are all formed by what we do. The habits we develop shape us into who we are. We are not just minds that need to know doctrine; we are whole people who need to learn rhythms and habits that help us live into the story of God.

If we only focus on forming our minds, we will not become deep disciples. We can’t neglect the habits, because we are not just disembodied minds, but whole people. There are two ways we can do this: through corporate habits and through individual habits.

Corporate habits are the habits and rhythms we do in community—as a whole church or perhaps as a small group. The most obvious weekly habit is gathering for worship. Consistent weekly attendance at the church gathering is an essential characteristic of a healthy disciple. Other corporate habits are intentional seasons of prayer, giving, or fasting. Is your church or your small group participating in corporate spiritual habits?

Spiritual habits should also be part of your personal discipleship plan. Not only should this include developing rhythms for the first two categories of discipleship, Bible intake and theology, but it should also include rhythms of prayer, fasting, giving, service, and more. Are you intentional about developing individual spiritual habits?

The most central and essential spiritual habit is prayer. Like consistent Bible reading, nothing can replace a life of prayer. Jesus taught his disciples—including us—how to pray in today’s Bible passage. Spend some time meditating on that passage. Pray the Lord’s Prayer and make it your own. When you pray for God’s kingdom to come, pray for specific needs in the world that are evident of the absence of God’s kingdom. When you ask for your daily bread, tell God what you need. When you ask for forgiveness, confess specific sins. Then commit not to just doing this today, but to a lifetime of prayer.

A Disciple Grows in the Knowledge of Christian Beliefs

A Disciple Grows in the Knowledge of Christian Beliefs

The next essential element of Christian discipleship is growing in the knowledge of Christian beliefs, or what we might call theology. Now, I know that word may immediately turn you off. It sounds arrogant or academic. “Why can’t we just love God?” you might ask. But hang with me—I want to convince you: (a) that you’re already a theologian, and (b) that you need to commit to being a good one.

Often, theology is seen as an obstacle to discipleship, but it is actually the foundation of Christian living. The term theology comes from two Greek words: theos, meaning God, and logos, meaning word. It basically translates as “words about God,” or “God’s Word about himself.” Is there anything more practical than words about God? Is anything more important than understanding what God has said about himself? I don’t think so. Doctrine and discipleship go hand in hand.

Theology is simply what we believe to be true about God, and everybody believes something about God—even if they believe he doesn’t exist. Everyone is a theologian because everyone has words about God. Everyone has gone to seminary—has learned how to think about God. The question is, have you been taught how to think about God by God, or by something else? Everyone is being discipled; the question is, by whom?

Good theology helps us know who God is, who we are, what the world is, and how we can be faithful disciples.

Paul highlights this in his letter to the Colossians: “And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God” (Col. 1:9–10). For Paul, deep disciples are filled with, and increasing in, the knowledge of God. Why? Because it is then and only then, that they can walk in a manner worth and pleasing to him. Knowledge of God leads to faithfulness and fruitfulness. We cannot be faithful and fruitful to a God we don’t know.

What is the goal of discipleship?

What is the goal of discipleship? 

A roadmap is a really helpful tool. A GPS app on a smartphone is even better. Instead of unfolding a massive piece of paper and having to pull over on the side of the road to double-check that you’re on the right track, Siri can just tell you exactly when you need to turn and how long until you get to your destination. Siri is useful for telling you how to get somewhere, but it can’t tell you why you’re going. It doesn’t know if you’re going to a funeral to mourn or a birthday party to celebrate, to church to worship or to a ball game to root on your favorite team.

Like a GPS app, so many of the programs we do as Christians are meant to be a guide for us, telling us how to get somewhere. But I’m afraid too few of us stop to ask the why question. 

The why behind every other question of discipleship is God. Why does discipleship matter? Because God matters. Nothing is more beautiful, lovely, pure, and limitless than God alone.

I believe each of us has a great opportunity: to recapture a radically God-centered vision for discipleship. The source of true discipleship is God himself. The goal of true discipleship is God himself. Fellowship with the Triune God is where we are going, and fellowship with the Triune God is how we are going to get there.

This is what God revealed to his people through the prophet Habakkuk: “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” (Hab. 2:14). Habakkuk wrote this in a time when God’s people were questioning God’s purposes in the world. What was God up to? What was God’s goal? This is the prophet’s answer: One day the whole earth, every single part of it, will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord. As Christians, then, that vision should drive us. If this is the future of God’s world—that his knowledge would cover all things—then it is our future. And if it is our future, we should pursue it now. That’s the why behind the what and the how. That’s the goal of discipleship.

What is the goal of discipleship?

What is the goal of discipleship? 

A roadmap is a really helpful tool. A GPS app on a smartphone is even better. Instead of unfolding a massive piece of paper and having to pull over on the side of the road to double-check that you’re on the right track, Siri can just tell you exactly when you need to turn and how long until you get to your destination. Siri is useful for telling you how to get somewhere, but it can’t tell you why you’re going. It doesn’t know if you’re going to a funeral to mourn or a birthday party to celebrate, to church to worship or to a ball game to root on your favorite team.

Like a GPS app, so many of the programs we do as Christians are meant to be a guide for us, telling us how to get somewhere. But I’m afraid too few of us stop to ask the why question. 

The why behind every other question of discipleship is God. Why does discipleship matter? Because God matters. Nothing is more beautiful, lovely, pure, and limitless than God alone.

I believe each of us has a great opportunity: to recapture a radically God-centered vision for discipleship. The source of true discipleship is God himself. The goal of true discipleship is God himself. Fellowship with the Triune God is where we are going, and fellowship with the Triune God is how we are going to get there.

This is what God revealed to his people through the prophet Habakkuk: “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” (Hab. 2:14). Habakkuk wrote this in a time when God’s people were questioning God’s purposes in the world. What was God up to? What was God’s goal? This is the prophet’s answer: One day the whole earth, every single part of it, will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord. As Christians, then, that vision should drive us. If this is the future of God’s world—that his knowledge would cover all things—then it is our future. And if it is our future, we should pursue it now. That’s the why behind the what and the how. That’s the goal of discipleship.

What does it mean to be a disciple?

What does it mean to be a disciple?

Different people may answer this question in different ways. Some people think a disciple is a person who does a bunch of stuff for Jesus—the girl who shows up at church every time the doors are open and serves in all the ministries. Other people think it’s the person who is really hardcore about his Christian faith—the guy who’s always sharing the gospel with every person he meets. 

What these definitions have in common is that they both assume being a disciple is like being a “Christian-plus.” It’s the advanced version of Christianity. But this couldn’t be further from the truth. 

According to the Bible, all Christians are disciples; the two are synonymous. And to be a disciple is simply to be a learner. That’s what the word means. Disciples are learning the way of Jesus. One of the most basic definitions of discipleship is found in the Great Commission: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matt. 28:18–19, emphasis added). 

According to Jesus, discipleship is all about learning and teaching; it centers on being taught and becoming a teacher. To disciple means to make students of, bring to school, educate, mentor, apprentice (Frederick Dale Bruner, Matthew: A Commentary).

In order to get started on the right path of discipleship, we have to understand this. Discipleship is not Christianity-plus. It’s not just for the super Christians who are really gifted. It’s for you. It’s for me. It’s for everyone to whom Jesus has said, “Follow me.”