By Dave Quinn
I have been thinking a lot about being a disciple lately and what it really means to follow Christ. For me being a disciple of Christ is to try and follow His teachings and try as best I can to live the way He lived.
As I have been dwelling on this I decided to have a look at what the Bible says about being a disciple and what things are expected from a true follower of Christ. Here are some of the things.
1. A true disciple is willing to follow the call
When Jesus came and saw the fisherman by the lake in Mark 1:17-18 He simply said to them to, “Come and follow Me”. We see that they heard the call, received it and simply left everything to follow. As disciples of Christ we need to have the same willingness to leave what we are doing and then follow His call. A true disciple knows that at any moment Jesus could call them on to the next thing and they are open and willing to move on with Him when that call comes.
2. A true disciple is a humble servant
Following Christ is not about being the greatest, it is about being a servant of all. We see this in Mark 10:43-44 where it says, “Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all”. As true disciples our heart attitude should be that of a servant of Christ and we should live this out by serving those around us in the roles that God has called us to serve.
3. A true disciple follows Christ’s teachings
If we are wanting to truly learn about Christ and wanting to follow Him closely a great place to start is by reading the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapters 5-7. These chapters outline the attitudes and values we should have as Christians and it also talks about how we should relate to God and each other. These chapters have a lot of headings and a short paragraph under each section. You might like to read one section and ask God to help you put that into practice each day.
4. A true disciple does the will of God
God has a plan and purpose for each of our lives. Jeremiah 29:11-12 tells us He has a good plan for us and a plan to bless us. God made us a certain way to achieve certain things for Him while we are alive. If you are not sure what God’s plan for your life is you can ask your minister or a close Christian friend what they think you are called to do. Other keys to doing God’s will is by looking at the things you naturally do well, seeing what you are passionate about that helps people and doing the things God tells us to do in the Bible.
5. A true disciple loves others like Christ did
In John 13:34-35 Jesus says, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” A true disciple should love God and love others. Loving others means to want what is best for them and being willing to come along side them and help them if the need arises. It is interesting that it says people will know we belong to Christ because of the love we show to others.
6. A true disciple shares their resources to help others
In this life we have a choice to spend our money how we please. We can choose to save it and spend it all on ourselves or we can use some of it to help others in need. One of the great examples we see from the early church in Acts 4:32-37 is that the community of believers shared their possessions and sold some things so others would not go without the basics of life. These days a simple ways to help others in need is to give to an aid organisation like Compassion or World Vision. They are able to help people around the world who are in need.
7. A true disciple helps others to follow Christ
In Matthew 28:19 Jesus tells us to go and make disciples. This is the last words of Christ before He returned to heaven. A true disciple knows how great it is to know, love and serve Christ and they want to help others to follow Him too. For me personally, the day I became a Christian is the greatest day of my life. Knowing Jesus personally and asking Him into my life was a true turning point for me. My life is full of hope, purpose and meaning and I want to share this with others.
Summary
As true disciples of Christ our heart attitude should be that of a humble servant who loves God and loves others. They should try their very best to live their lives in the same way that Christ lived His. A true disciple should try to live out Jesus’ teachings in a way that blesses others and gives them a chance to follow Jesus themselves.
By Dave Quinn
Founder PASSION Australia
Radical Disciples - A Remnant Revolution 