It Starts With You

To be a disciple-maker it seems rather obvious that first you must be a disciple yourself. Jesus made disciples who inevitably wanted to be His disciples. He never forced anyone to follow Him. Look no further than the account of the rich young ruler in Matthew 19:16-22 to find evidence of this fact. To make disciples is to obey the Great Commission but it requires desire in your own heart to follow.

Recently I preached a sermon at my church where I made an illustration of how contagious yawning is. At first the congregation had no idea what I was doing as I stopped in mid-sentence and let out a big yawn...of course this was intentional. I wanted to see how many people I could get to yawn back at me. The number of yawners was impressive...go ahead make your jokes...I know you are thinking that it was the skill (or lack thereof) in my preaching that produced this effect. HaHa! This little experiment was to demonstrate that our actions can be contagious. Such is a life that exudes the love of Christ.

Richard Foster is quoted to say, "Conversion does not make us perfect, but it does catapult us into a total experience of discipleship that affects - and infects - every sphere of our living". Conversion is that moment when you decide to fully follow Christ...that is what discipleship truly is. Anyone who has genuinely experienced the redemptive love of Christ Jesus will ultimately be catapulted into a place where Jesus commands their very existence. It is then and only then that you can go about your life in obedience. When Christ has full control of your life, your joy and devotion to Him can, and potentially will be, contagious to those around you.

The Apostle Paul certainly understood this concept. He did not tell others how to live without demonstration. He did not adhere to the cliche of "do as I say, not as I do". Paul led by example. He said in Philippians 4:9 "What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me - practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you" (emphasis mine). Let them learn. Let them receive. Let them hear. But above all let them see discipleship at work in your own life.