Worship NOW! | Follower? Believer? Disciple?

I’ve been captivated this past week or so with a thought that flashed across my mind.

Here it is: Are you a follower, a believer, or a disciple of Jesus Christ?

Are you a follower, a believer, or a disciple of Jesus Christ?

My immediate response was, well, I’m a Christian so I’m all three! But I got a BIG RED X and buzzer sound in my spirit to that answer, along with the sense that you can only truly be in one of those stages of relationship with God. So, I’ve spent some time letting that bubble up within me and as you would expect, did some research, praying, and asking God to define exactly what he means by those words. What’s the difference? Until I knew, I couldn't honestly answer the question. And I got the sense the answer is pretty important not only for me but for everyone.

Follower: The New Testament records there were many crowds that sought after and followed Jesus wherever he went. They were intrigued by his teaching, wanted to see the miracles, maybe even obtain some healing. They were in the process of deciding for themselves if Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah or just a crazy man. They are what we would call “seekers,” gathering the information they would need to make a decision about who Jesus really was (John 6:2). IF they decided he was who he said he was, they were no longer follower/seekers, they entered the next life-altering stage of being a believer.

Believer: Has gathered information from their “follower / seeker stage” and has made a life-impacting decision to accept the truth that Jesus is who he said he was. They have decided to put their faith in him and the promises he offered. Their new faith affirms this is a risk worth taking, and they believe that living by the teachings Jesus presented is worth making the lifestyle changes it requires. They choose to trust in Jesus to redeem them, forgive them, and give them eternal life (John 3:16). This profession causes them to receive a new life as a child of God and a new name: Christian. And then the hard work begins. What work? The work of living as a disciple.

Disciple: Having gone from follower to believer, you now enter your new life where Jesus is your Lord and in control of your life. The task now is to learn how to live under this new management daily. How do you not be in control of everything? (News flash - you never really were.) The only way you can "let go and let God" is through deepening your personal relationship with Jesus through constant prayer, listening for, learning from, yielding to, asking to know his plans and will. But that's only the first part. After hearing his voice and the plans he presents you with, you must actually DO THEM! It is through dialogue, hearing, and obeying that you become his disciple (Luke 9:23). It literally becomes the air you breathe. You wouldn’t even consider doing anything without consulting with him first to know his will for you in every situation. This requires intimate daily interactions with him. Sometimes he will ask easy things, other times, well....., they will not be so easy. What will you do when he asks something hard, or that you don’t want to do, or are frightened to do? Disciples push through and obey because of their love for Jesus and the fact that they have already decided they will always say yes to what he asks. They know it won’t always be easy, or happy and peppy, but they obey because they trust in God’s love for them and his big picture plan even if they can’t fully see it right now. And seeing God work through your obedience - it is the closest joy and happiness to being in Heaven that we will know till we get there! This is the life-changing work of being a disciple.

Those are the answers I arrived at so I could answer the question with full understanding. For all of us who consider the question, use the definitions I presented or ask God for your own. I can clearly see I have moved through the stages of follower/seeker, believer, and now a growing disciple and there is really no turning back (Philippians 1:6). I have been ruined for living any other way, THANK GOD! It is my prayer that we all can confidently say we are disciples and that God would continue to deepen our relationship with him and grant us grace and power to grow even more willing and ready to do his will.

May God bless you abundantly this season.

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