Who Is A Disciple?
Let me just get these frustrations out of the way quickly and then we'll move on to the matter at hand. Two nights ago, with a 1-1 tie in the 9th, the Angels loaded the bases with nobody out. They hit into a double play, making outs at home and third (!) and then followed up quickly with the third out. The Mariners scored in the bottom half and won. Yesterday, they were down 8-9 going into the 9th. A ball was hit right to third and booted...runner on first. A bunt was laid down and thrown away...so runners at second and third, right? RIGHT? Wrong. The guy on first lost his mind (as did the third base coach) and he tried to score all the way from first. On a bunt. Yes, on a bunt. Out at home. We managed to tie the score, but then allowed them to win in the bottom for the second straight day. Swept...again...by the Mariners. This team may not want to go to the playoffs.Okay, thanks. Onward.
I was having a conversation this week with somebody about discipleship. That will be our focus for the next 9 weeks at College so I anticipate having many such discussions. We were talking about what the first disciples did and about the activities of the Jerusalem church at the end of Acts 2. His comments were that, circumstances being different, we weren't expected to do all of those things and certainly not in the same way. Also he mentioned that not everybody was a disciple. There were the 12, but then others were referred to as "believers." Was I thrown for a loop? Yeah, a little.
One of the things I wish I was better at is having a quicker response. I have to mull things over, sometimes for days, before I know what I want to say. Maybe God made me like this so I would have to be silent at first and think things through. Whatever the reason, I left without giving a good answer.
You see, I think we are all called to be disciples. We are all asked to become like Christ. I don't think the early church did what they did out of overzealousness, I think they did it out of joy and obedience. And I know that Luke says that the disciples were first called Christians at Antioch. I'm sure he didn't mean that there was now a delineation between "Christians" and "believers." To be a Christian is, by definition, to be a disciple.
We are the ambassadors of Christ. We are Jesus in this world. He's given us his Spirit, his command, and his promise. He's got our backs. What else do we really need? A great deal is expected of us, yes, but what a tremendous honor to represent the Creator and the Saviour of the universe.
I may not have said all that right away, but then God has provided me with a pulpit for 5 of the next 9 Sundays. It'll get out.
posted by Thurman8er @ 8:45 AM
3 Comments:
You kill me.
I think you have grown in your ability to not say exactly what you think right away but to "ponder" it a little while. That's a good thing.
I agree with Sandra.
A friend of mine has noticed that the word DISCIPLE falls out of use about halfway through Acts, and is extremely hard to find in the epistles.
The word DISCIPLE has also fallen out of use to describe our modern-day life in Christ. I don't know if that is on purpose or just because we've gotten so good at following Jesus.
Not to split hairs here (because I have so few to split) but believers (in my humble opinion) are what disciples used to be.
The 12 were disciples who became believers.
The 12 were instructed to go and make more disciples who through teaching, and training would become believers.
If anything the call to be a believer is greater than the call to be a disciple.
The task of the disciple is to learn about Christ. The task of the believer is to live for Christ.
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