Three characteristics of a follower
of Jesus are,
1.
Follower.
To be a disciple one must make a decision to follow Jesus. This means receiving
Christ into one’s life as Lord and Savior; “following means that we recognize
and accept who Jesus is as Lord, leader, and master of our lives.”[1] It
all starts here. Without Christ in one’s life there really is no good, no
service, and no love that can truly be expressed because motives will always be
off. We must deal with sin through Jesus in order to live life genuinely.
2.
Committed.
A follower of Christ is a committed person to the cause of his King. He will do
whatever Christ demands of him, even forfeiting his relationships. Luke 14:26
is a hard scripture to grasp. Does God the Son really expect us to hate and/or abandon
our immediate family for his sake? The people we love and have grown up with,
the ones who have nurtured and cared for us, those that have been there through
the tough and tumble times – but I can’t even see you Jesus? This passage is so
much more that. Christ desires our commitment to him be greater than any other
– that our love for him is so deep that it seems like we harbor hatred but keep
in mind that “hatred here is a comparative term. Our love for Christ is so
great, so consuming that, in comparison; it feels like hatred (disdain) for
others.”[2] Our
minds and heart so belong to him that we are willing to drop everyone and everything
and go.
3.
Love.
At the heart of a true disciple is love. Love for God the Father, the Son, the
Holy Spirit, and love for neighbor. This begs the question as found in
scripture – who is my neighbor? In Luke 10:25-37 we read the parable of the
Good Samaritan. Jesus informs us that he or she that is willing to help a
person in need (friend or foe) is neighborly, and he or she that is in need is
our neighbor. Without love we would be hard pressed to live the genuine life of
a disciple.
A disciple then is one that has
received Christ into his life as Lord, leader, and master and is utterly
committed to him and his will. He is full of love and is ready to delve deeply
into God’s word for wisdom, guidance, and practice in order to glorify God and
serve his neighbor.
[1] Jim Putman, Bobby
Harington, Disciple Shift: Five Steps
that Help Your Church to Make Disciples Who Make Disciples, (Grand Rapids:
Zondervan, 2013), 46.
[2] Dave Earely, Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…How to Live the Great
Commission with Passion and Confidence, (Nashville: B & H Publishing
Group, 2013), 23.
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