Who are we becoming?

 

Hebrews 13:7-17

Discipleship is central to everything we are and all we do as God's church. With as much as there can be to say about discipleship, the idea is pretty simple. I'm grateful people have asked me, What is a disciple? For a while, I've gone with what I consider an easy definition of discipleship. A disciple is anyone who is learning about Jesus, in order to live like Jesus because they love Jesus. Again, we can explore much more about each of the three parts to that definition. But I also appreciate an even more concise answer. Simply said, discipleship is imitation. Those three words also allow us to clarify at least two important things. First, you can be anyone's disciple. We might have a hard time answering what Jesus would do or say. But we can easily answer what our go-to political pundits think. We may even repeat what we hear from them. In a sense, that's imitation. Parents often worry about the kinds of friends their children have. Why? Imitation. The other important lesson centers on what we are becoming. Discipleship includes spiritual disciplines. That is, a disciple prays, studies scripture, worships and serves. The reality is anyone can go to church and even bow their head to pray. A disciple, though, understands those practices are a part of God's transformation. They are not the end all themselves. Who you are becoming is what makes you a disciple. If you're imitating Jesus, you're becoming more Christ-like. That's what makes you a disciple of Jesus. And as we're learning more about Jesus, God has given us other examples to follow. You may recall the great faith chapter in Hebrews. It was important for the writer to look back on ancient examples of faith. But she also turns our attention to the present. Hebrews 13 says, "Remember your leaders, those who spoke the word of God to you; consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith." So, we can also say discipleship is imitating others imitating Jesus. The question is not if we're imitating someone. It's who we're imitating. As God's people, our highest priority is discipleship, imitating Jesus. If not, who are we becoming? Stay blessed...john