Discipleship

Jesus told us to go into all the world and make disciples. Some challenging thoughts to those of us who are claiming to do that.

Whom are we discipling? 
Jesus did not wait for people to apply at his ministry, but he approached his disciples and asked them to follow him. Likewise, we should not wait for people to choose us as their mentor, but we should choose people to follow us!

Requirements in a mentor - disciple relationship

• Required: The mentor needs to love the person he calls to follow him!
• Not required: The person called loving the one who calls him. 

In fact, the motive of the person called does not really matter:

• he might be looking for financial stability and wealth (like Judas)
• he might be looking for an increased social status (e.g. from fisherman or tax-collector to teacher religious authority)
• he might be in it for some other personal benefit (like a "Greencard," English language, education,...)

How or why did Jesus choose the 12  apostles? 

Obviously, Jesus prayed before he made his decision. But here are a few characteristics that I found:

• The natural gifts, talents and abilities of the disciples were not important - on the contrary: God chooses the foolish things!
• Jesus didn't abandon the disciples when they show certain signs of progress, growth and maturity after a while
• The only criteria that Jesus seemed to have was that he loved them!

That is good news for us, because Jesus chose us. After 3 years of having been with Jesus, the disciples did not "get" most of the things that Jesus had taught them, but Jesus didn't kick them out of the discipleship training school. How much did we not get yet that  he has been teaching us all along? And how much did the people we disciple not get yet, even though we have been trying to teach them for years?

Remember: The only thing that is required for you to make disciples is that you love them. So keep on loving them. If you haven't really started to make disciples yet, then maybe now is a good time to call somebody you love to follow you. It will mean that you allow that person to be a part of your life, because I cannot see there being a different way of making disciples. That's how the Master did it, and I don't think we have come up with another, better way than that yet.

The goal of discipleship, but not required at the beginning, is to love Jesus. After 3 years of having been with Jesus, Peter can't help but to realize that indeed he loved the one whom he followed. And it is in that very moment, that the Lord releases him to feed his sheep... Before then, Peter had been send out to preach and to heal, but only now, after he realized that he really loved the Lord, was he given the greatest task of all - to make disciples :)

Brothers and sisters in the ministry: Let us delight in this high calling!
May the peace and joy of the Lord be with you all!