~By: Susanna Kozlow~
Why is discipleship so important? And why is it so difficult for believers to understand their responsibility in this? Discipleship is a call to every believer for the purpose of glorifying God here on earth. It’s not about us. It’s never about us. It’s following what Jesus did on this earth - His teachings, His model, and what He left for us all to do. Why? Because we die to ourselves when we proclaim our allegiance to Jesus. He takes the lead in our lives, and by doing that He allows us to go into the field and make disciples of others. How do we do that? We actually have to invest in the lives of others. We have to care enough. We have to be pushed out of our comfort zones and pushed out of the mindset that we are only responsible for ourselves in order to be better versions of ourselves as we sit in the seats of Sunday church service. We have to make time for people and check in on people. When the Holy Spirit prompts you to reach out to someone but your schedule is already full with your plans, take His prompt in obedience. There’s a reason.
Yesterday I watched this country in uproar on the sick decision of a state to terminate babies who are full term. Every Christ follower saw the depravity of a world that Satan has taken delight in. There are women who truly believe this is okay because their lives and their control over their lives means more than what anyone thinks - even if it means killing the innocent. That should tell us the heart posture of those that think this is okay. If that shakes you to the core, then today your decision to reach out to women around you and start investing in the lives of others should be on the very top of your list. Why? Because people need a Lord and Savior. They need blinders to come off. They need to know the freedom of Jesus. As believers, we are the examples. Do you think we are examples by investing in only ourselves? By being a faithful Sunday church member? Or even serving in every area in church? No. We are examples when we reach out to others, when we make time for others, and when we actually love our neighbor like we love ourselves. In order to be able to do that, we have to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30-31). He is the fuel behind every decision we make, and Jesus tells us that once we do that, we should be able to love others like ourselves. We have to care enough, love enough, and be desperate enough.
We live in a society that tells our generation that it is all about themselves. As believers, how do we intend to make an impact with that mindset, that really is a posture of one’s heart, especially when we also think our salvation and sanctification is all about ourselves? We know when we come to Jesus our heart posture changes, and when it does it pours out to another, and that person pours it out to another, and so on. Disciples are made by our heart posture shifting, and discipleship begins when we take the time for others. Yesterday’s heartbreak should be today’s fuel for every Christ follower.
