Discipleship's Value

44"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.
45"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.
--Matthew 13:44-46

In Jesus’ time, if someone was known as a disciple of someone it meant they were a student of that person’s philosophy or trade. What was Jesus’ philosophy? What principles did Jesus’ life exemplify? Life lived under the rule of the kingdom of heaven. This is the life Jesus invites us to. People who seek this life and find it, dis-cover that they have found something more valuable than anything they have known before. It makes that big a difference.

In order to experience discipleship’s value, we need to give ourselves totally to following Jesus. Paul, one of the prominent writers of the New Testament, discovered the value of discipleship. He told them that before he became a disciple of Jesus he was a Jew of great status. He could trace his bloodline back to the great Abra-ham. He was an important leader in the church. He kept Moses' law flawlessly. He distinguished himself so much as a Jew that he was given the task of protecting their faith from people who were following Jesus. He had done very well for himself. He thought he had quite a life. That is, until he had a life-changing encounter with the risen Christ. He said that he counts all that he had before as garbage when he compared that with the surpassing value of knowing Jesus. All that he had before he was happy to lose in order to have the life he now had as a disciple of Christ (Philippians 3.4b-14).

Jesus offers us life. Not life as the world offers it, where security is found in status, power, and possessions. Jesus offers us a life of hope. We always have a place in the kingdom of heaven. Nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God through Christ Jesus (Romans 8:38-39). Life can come at us with all it has got. Our future is secure. Jesus offers us life with meaning and purpose. We have a mission to live out as Jesus’ disciples—proclaim His love and live out His love in the world. It’s a life, if we are willing to give ourselves totally to it, that Jesus assures us we will find more valuable than anything we’ve ever experienced before.

Leading people to a fuller life

9 I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
--John 10:9-10

Imagine for a moment that you have been put in a town carrying a valuable message that will give anyone who knows it a peaceful and satisfying life. Along with this valuable message you have been given a special sense that reveals to you the people who need it. As you walk through the town, the people seem to have pretty normal lives. Most of them have decent jobs. The children in the town enjoy good schools and like to play when their time is free. On the weekends people have friends over or watch football on TV. It seems to be a nice, quiet town. You are shocked, then, to discover that over half the people you encounter trigger your special sense that they are enjoying neither peace nor satisfaction in their lives. They desperately need the message you have.

One problem. People in this town don’t learn very well when you simply try to tell the message to them. They have settled for life as it is now. They don’t have a vision for what life could be. Their best hope for embracing your valuable message is to see you experiencing the peace and satisfaction they could also have.

As a believer in Jesus YOU are the person carrying the valuable lesson! People enter into the abundant life of peace and satisfaction as they become Jesus’ disciples. According to statistics, 60% of your neighbors, co-workers, and friends don’t have a meaningful relationship with Christ. They may know who he is, but they haven’t “entered the gate.” They have a life, just not the abundant, transformed life that Jesus promises through a relationship with him.

I am reading the diary of an American missionary named Frank Laubach right now. Laubach was a missionary to an illiterate Muslim tribe in the Philippines during the 1930s. In his diary, Letters by a Modern Mystic, I have been challenged by his perspective that he had no right to convert Muslims to Christianity unless it led them to a fuller life in God than they had before. Here’s an excerpt from his diary dated 9 March 1930:

“Clearly, clearly, my job is not to go to the town plaza and make proselytes, it is to live wrapped in God, trembling to His thoughts, burning with His passion. And, my loved one, that is the best gift you can give your own town.”

Ultimately what will lead people to a satisfying, life-transforming relationship with Jesus Christ is speaking the message with your life. I invite you to take some time this month to reflect on your life as it is right now. Ask Jesus to refresh your spirit, give you His thoughts, and energize you with His passion. Perhaps you might read through one of the gospels this month and connect more deeply with Jesus and his life. The best gifts we can give our town are lives wrapped in God…lives full of God.