Who are you following?
As much as we’re called to make disciples, we’re called to be disciples.
You might recall a certain saying which floats around from time to time, ‘once saved, always saved’? Well, although there might be an ELEMENT of truth in those words, it’s not the whole story is it?
We don’t cry out to God and ask for Him to forgive us etc at one particular moment in time almost like some kind of ‘insurance policy’, only NEVER to consider Him again and instead, just decide to do our own thing and behave in whichever way we choose.
True, that may have made some ‘convert’. But disciple means follower.
Perhaps we’re all disciples of something – of someone even. Religiously following every move, mimicking every type of behaviour and so on. But what of our discipleship to Christ? What of following HIS steps, His Words, His deeds?
I mean, Jesus Himself wasn’t even immune to following. He explains many times to His own disciples and to others that He only does what He sees His Father doing. Following assumes a place of humility and indicates that actually, we don’t know it all, even when it might appear that way. Following is surrender, it’s trust, and it’s much more besides. But also, it’s more than that.
Being a disciple is saying that Jesus knows best.
We’re intelligent human beings with limitless potential. There’s so much we have made and designed which shows us a snapshot of our collective intelligence and such. But even the most intelligent, the most enlightened and the most aware of us all is still lost without a guide.
We don’t get to a point where we ‘make it’ and then decide to let God know that we’ve got it from here. That’s not the point of our existence. God isn’t simply a crutch for our weak moments, only to be forgotten about in moments of strength – far from it.
We all need to continue to follow as we call others to do the same. We all need to recognise our constant need as well as the need of the world around us. Because that’s another thing… I don’t know about you, but there can be times when I’m quick to judge or have an opinion on the thoughts or actions of others, barely recognising that mine aren’t exactly hitting the mark either.
I suppose the point is that we never ‘hit the mark’ so to speak, but rather, that we simply continue to follow.
When Jesus called the early disciples, they left everything to follow Him. The fishermen weren’t suddenly so preoccupied with their nets that they ignored the call. In fact, they left the nets behind. Because following was what was best.
How often do we want to follow with a PART of our lives? Like, we’re happy to give God a little of ourselves, but in truth, there are some parts we’d rather He just left alone and allowed us to get on with without Him.
What would leaving everything look like? What would total surrender look like? What would true discipleship look like?
In all honestly, I’m asking these questions to myself as much as I am to you.
“If you want to go further, you have to dig deeper.” Is what I say all over my website and my messages and so on. And I believe it’s so important we consider what going deeper in our discipleship looks like continually.
We shouldn’t be happy to simply scratch the surface of who and Whose we are. We should actually long for so much more than that..
If you want to go further, you have to dig deeper.
HEY! I’m Naomi, Business Coach for High-Level Female Entrepreneurs & Founder of Living Word League.
I coach, write, teach and run programs which infuse practical strategies with Biblical principles (which I personally think is the best rule of thumb for success.) I moved from a 7-year High School teaching career, to building and scaling my business after starting out as a hobby-status blogger in 2011. Within months, I was able to go totally full time and haven't looked back. My success, as someone who previously would have never seen myself as an entrepreneur means that I'm now beyond passionate about business being an expression of Kingdom-building here on earth. Hobby status and inconsistent feast to famine months aren't cutting it for you anymore right? You're meant for a business which has faith as your foundation AND soars with success. That's where I come in.
Click HERE to learn more about working with me.