Truly My Disciples

After reading the Great Commission a thousand times in my life, I had one of those "Aha" moments several months ago when I read it again and something jumped out at me in a way that it hadn't in the past.

"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." Matt 28:19-20

In the original language, the words that come to English as "Go", "baptizing", and "teaching" are constructed to clearly be in support of one overarching command in this verse. That overarching command? Make disciples. This is Jesus' commissioning command to His church as He left to return to heaven - make disciples. I had always read the Great Commission as a call to evangelism, and it is that, but again, the primary command isn't to "Share your faith" or as Pastor Scott told us this Sunday, it isn't to "make converts" but to make disciples.

This has put me on a journey of asking a few questions - What is a disciple of Christ? How do we know when someone has become a disciple? How do I make disciples? My background in business leads me to wanting to develop a list of key indicators, set up regular assessments, and establish a dashboard to track our progress. Thankfully, I've come to the conclusion that making disciples is a different goal, a higher goal than making or selling widgets, and doesn't necessarily lend itself to measurable, time based goals.

One of the things that jumped out at me from this week's text though, is that Jesus specifically told us one of the things that makes us a true disciple of His - "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples...(John 8:31)" A true disciple of Christ is one that abides in the Word of Christ.

This idea is not unique to this passage. Read the following passages regarding scripture and the Word of God:

Psalm 119:9-18
Luke 4:4
Col 3:16
2 Tim 3:16
2 Pet 1:19-21

How well do these scriptures reflect our lives? What place does scripture hold in our lives? Would we characterize ourselves as those who "abide in Christ's words?

If it is our desire to be a true disciple, and a disciple is one who abides in Christ's word, what changes might we need to make?