Transitioning from Christian to Disciple
Allow me to ask you this question, what does it mean to be a Christian? Ever thought about it? A lot of us say we are Christians but it doesn’t seem to make much of a difference. We still feel far from God and our lives aren’t filled with meaning and purpose like we were told they would be. For the most part we’re pretty sure we’re going to heaven (which seems far away) and we’re just holding on until then. Basically, we try not to do bad things and when we do it’s alright because Jesus loves us.
Church is a place we go to on Sundays and holidays. When you’re young there are crafts with glue and if you’re lucky some snacks. When you’re a young adult there’s pizza and videos and conferences and missions trips and lock-ins and camp. When you’re an adult age 20-35 they have churches just for you but you’ll have to move to a big city. And when you’re older and have kids you’ll take them to a church because they need to hear about Jesus. Wouldn't want the kids missing on the great experience of being a Christian.
Doesn’t this make you wonder if the faith is really so great?
There have been a lot of books written on this topic. Something is wrong. They conclude that faith in Jesus is supposed to be defined by life and mission and joy and Holy Spirit power! But then they mention things like sacrifice and suffering and struggling and devotion and an intimate knowledge of God where we allow him to see and have everything about us. They call it being a disciple or follower of Jesus. They bring up verses about taking up our cross and dying to self. They remind us that God’s power is made perfect in weakness. We have to be weak first.
This is where the wrestling begins. We can agree with the author that our Christian life or whatever isn’t all that we wished it could be. And what they’re asking us to do is inspiring and looks good on paper but a certain level of hesitation creeps in. “Someone really should take up their cross and follow and learn from Jesus without question. Go for it!” It’s like offering a sick person antibiotics for their illness and they reply, “This Dayquil allows me to go about my life and I feel mostly fine.” When in reality if they don’t take the real pills they might just die.
Do those authors know what they’re doing? Do they understand what they are asking? There is an internal battle taking place. “When it comes to faith did I ask Jesus to heal me of my sin or just take the edge off? No! I want Jesus to save me. I want to love him and have a life with God’s purpose even if it costs me everything! It’s just that in my whole Christian life I’ve never really done anything like this before. I don’t know what it’s like to follow and be taught by Jesus. Up to this point it’s all been eternal life and waiting for that day.”
If this is what Jesus wants from us it seems impossible. That’s exactly what God had in mind in the first place. Being a disciple of Jesus Christ is not comfortable. There is conflict that happens inside as the believer fights temptation. There is conflict on the outside as our decisions begin to collide with everyday life. We begin to learn that prayer and fasting and bible reading are supposed to be acts of worship. And not to mention the dark spiritual forces at work that will begin to pull at you and attack you with doubt on every side. Risky faith is the only faith. No more prayers for safety. Life with Christ is life on the edge.
With all the fears also comes a new level of hope and purpose and anticipation. Jesus speaks and it starts to make sense. Things that were so important have less and less value. In the midst of trials and tragedy there are moments of peace and joy. Prayers run deeper. Worship has more meaning. Repentance or turning from sin is a supernatural part of life. Guilt and shame are replaced by promises of freedom and forgiveness. The story of Jesus dying for our sin and rising from the grave takes on greater meaning. The gospel is good news. You are a work in progress and God is changing you from the inside. Your salvation is not your own but is to be shared in word and action with everyone around you.
Is this unbelievable or what? It might be but it’s not anything new. From the moment the church began there have been cycles of failure to understand what it means to follow Jesus and how we should proceed. One generation is all about rules and holiness. Another generation is all about love with very little talk of God’s hatred of sin. The bottom line is that we can try to follow Jesus our way or God’s way. Jesus is the author and designer of our faith. The words He spoke in the gospel and the commands he gave for love and rejection of this world are serious. God only has one way. Authors like Francis Chan with “Crazy Love” and John Piper with “Don’t Waste Your Life” understand this and feel the need to share it with us.
If you decide to make this transition from Christian to disciple be prepared for a change. If you decide that it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks or does then it’s going to get crazy. What you’ll find though is that you’ll be your own worst enemy next to the devil himself. There will be days where Jesus is clearly showing you a better choice and you’ll be wrestling with yourself. Deep inside there will be this voice calling you back to the manageable Christian life that you had before. It will seem pretty inviting. Examine the truth. Look at your life. Is Jesus really the one you want to follow? Is his way of faith the only way for you? There are hundreds of books and thousands of sermons all pointing to this, this way of Jesus. You could read and listen to them all. But what really matters is are you being a disciple by following Jesus or living the Christian life just waiting for a heavenly home that you might not be even sure you have.