Being a Disciple of Jesus

Do you know these guys?

Obi-Wan Kenobi, the one on the right, is a Master Jedi. Luke Skywalker, the one on the left, is a Padawan, or an apprentice Jedi. An apprentice follows the Master around, observes what he does, and learns from him, that way, he can start to live like the master. Luke spends time with Obi-Wan, learns from him, and tries to do as he did. Being a disciple of Jesus is like being an apprentice of Jesus. 

I wanted to call this blog “Holy in Progress” because as followers of Jesus, we want to be transformed to be more like him every day. We want to be holy, but it is a process and something we progress to. This process is called sanctification. When we are sanctified, we learn to live like Jesus and follow his examples. We spend time with him, learn from him, and do as he did. This is part of being his disciple.

A disciple of Christ is one who 1) believes his doctrine, 2) rests on his sacrifice, 3) takes in his Spirit, and 4) imitates his example (Easton’s Bible Dictionary). So, sanctification helps us imitate his example, but how do we start? I think Jesus gave us a good starting point when he said, "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me" Luke 9:23. 

To take up your cross means to fully commit to following Jesus and surrender following your own ways. The more we follow Jesus, the more time we spend with him. The more time we spend with him and the more we can know how he spent his time on earth. The more we know about how he spent his time, the more we can start to do those things so we can become like him.

Paul is a great example of this. He started to live like Jesus so well that he was able to tell other believers “you should imitate me, just as I imitate Christ.” 1 Corinthians 11:1. He didn’t say this to elevate himself, he said this because he knew he lived in a way that elevated Jesus, so if people lived like him, they would ultimately live like Jesus. Because Paul reflects Jesus, he was able to face great challenges in life, he set examples for us, and he got to be an author of Scripture! 

So, if we want to imitate Christ, if we want to be disciples of Jesus, what should we do? The Bible is full of examples of how Jesus lived and how we ought to live. There are so many things we can learn from Jesus, but for today, I am only going to share a couple of things he did that we too can do. 

One thing Jesus practiced was prayer. Luke 5:16 says, "Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer." In fact, of all the things Jesus did, miracles, healings, and so on, the disciples only asked him to teach them one thing: how to pray. That’s where we get The Lord’s Prayer, it was Jesus’s response to his disciples in Luke 11:2-4.

Prayer connects us to the Father. It reminds us of how much we have to be grateful for. It is how we equip ourselves to face the challenges of life. It is how we can worship God. Prayer can help us learn more about God, it can help us learn about our own purpose in life, and we can also pray on others behalf to see them healed, blessed, etc.

Another thing that Jesus did was fasting. Fasting is when you don’t eat food for a certain amount of time, and instead, you spend the time you would’ve spent eating and cooking in prayer. We see in Luke 4:1-2 that, "Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where he was tempted by the devil for forty days. Jesus ate nothing all that time and became very hungry."

During this time of fasting, it says the devil tempted him. But Jesus stayed rooted in the Father and endured. Later verses then say he was full of the Holy Spirit and began his ministry. His fasting and prayer time equipped him for his ministry. We can fast for many different reasons, but the most important reason is to grow closer to God through our fast.

Obviously, you know that Christians go to church. Jesus did the same thing! "He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom." Luke 4:16

It was customary, meaning common or normal, for Jesus to be at the synagogue, or church, to publicly worship in fellowship. When we go to church, we spend time worshipping God together, learning about His word, and we spend time with our church family.

Another spiritual practice Jesus participated in was knowing Scripture. "Three days later they finally discovered him in the Temple, sitting among the religious teachers, listening to them and asking questions. All who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers." Luke 2:46-47. He spoke with religious leaders, learned from them, and shared his learnings with them. It was customary in church gatherings to read Scripture, and Jesus participated in that.

The last one I want to mention is that Jesus served others. Mark 10:45 says, "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." An example of this is when Jesus washed his disciples’ feet which at the time was seen as the “lowest” of jobs. Doing what was considered prestigious is not what mattered to Jesus, serving his disciples is what mattered.

We can serve others through a ministry at church, or by being generous throughout the week and helping people with things they need. Serving keeps us humble, helps us love others, and helps us build the Kingdom of God. 

So, what happens when we practice some of these spiritual disciplines? Well, we become more like Jesus which then helps us love people better and equips us to build His Church. Being a disciple, or apprentice, of Jesus is not about becoming better so we can accomplish more or greater tasks. It’s about becoming more like Him so we can experience transformation that eventually leads to furthering His Kingdom.

If people see us living like Jesus, they will want to know what makes us different, what makes us so loving, and then we can point them right back to Jesus. My prayer this week is that we can each be more like Jesus than we were last week and that God would use that to impact one other person. I am grateful that we get to all work together for the sake of His Kingdom and that we are all Holy in Progress.

It’s about becoming more like Him so we can experience transformation that eventually leads to furthering His Kingdom.

With love,

Erica