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REFLECTION

“The cost of non-discipleship” is the theme for our reflection. The cost of something is the challenges or suffering involved in it. A disciple has been shown to be someone who follows the teachings, life, and aim of another until the person becomes like the master. Discipleship in the Christian sense is the process of making someone become like Christ. The disciple of Christ is to become like Christ in everything. It stands to reason that non-discipleship is the inability or the unwillingness of the Church or believers to spread the Gospel of Christ and to nurture and make people become like Christ. The cost of non-discipleship is the challenges of not preaching the Gospel and nurturing people to become like Christ or believers. When Jesus called His first disciples, He made them understand the cost of non-discipleship, “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” (Matthew 4:19). In other words, discipleship is about following Christ, becoming like Christ and calling others to come to Him, therefore we fail to make disciples, God’s mission will be stifled. Jesus laid the foundation for discipleship when He called the disciples, nurtured, taught or trained them to become like Him and then sent them out into the world to call others through the same process. Discipleship is about calling through the spreading of the Good News, nurturing through the teaching of the Word which leads to Spiritual maturity and then sending out believers to call others. Discipleship is therefore a process of people becoming like Christ and being sent to be fishers of the lost and perishing.

Dear friend, if Jesus said “come, follow me and I will send you out to fish for people” then it means when we stop fishing for people or making disciples the church will not grow and little impact will be made in the world in bringing salvation to every corner of the world. Jesus know the cost or challenges the church will encounter out of non-discipleship which is why He stressed the need for the disciples to “make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:19-20)

Beloved in the Lord, the cost of non-discipleship will lead to a situation where there may be more immature believers than mature believers in the church. The writer of Hebrews speaks about spiritual immaturity which leads to the inability to decipher between good and evil as the cost of non-discipleship “In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.” (Hebrews 5:12-14) In other words, the cost of non-discipleship is when mere church-goers (immature Christians) are more than mature believers or Christians. Many church-goers or immature Christians lack the elementary truths of God’s Word therefore they need to be taught to mature in Christ or in the faith. It is rather sad to mention that this phenomenon is common and it is on the ascendency in the twenty-first century Church. There are many people who claim to be Christian but do not attend Bible studies or read the Bible daily to understand and practice the elementary truth of God’s word to gradually mature to become like Jesus Christ, our Master and Saviour. This explains the reason why we have so many Christians yet crime and immorality keep increasing everywhere including cyberspace. The cost of non-discipleship leads to hollow or empty spirituality and little or no impact is made by us the follower of Christ in our communities spiritually and morally.

To overcome the cost of non-discipleship, Paul encourages us to continually teach with all our energy and admonishment, “He (Jesus) is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. To this end, I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me. (Colossians 1:28-29). When the Church prioritise discipleship by emphasising teaching or nurturing in God’s Word, “Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking (teaching) the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. (Ephesians 4:14-15).

Beloved in the Lord, the cost of non-discipleship is being in Christ yet not knowing Christ or becoming like Christ. We are not disciples of Christ until we are taught to offer ourselves as living sacrifices set apart from the world with a renewed mind that perceives everything through Christ. Paul gives the end result of discipleship, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is —his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:1-2) In other words, discipleship through teachings and nurturing activities in the Church should lead people to offer their bodies as living sacrifices to God and to experience spiritual and moral transformation through the renewal of their minds. The cost of non-discipleship outweighs the cost of discipleship, therefore, let us endeavour to spread the Gospel, and develop a passion for Bible studies, teaching and activities that will nurture believers to continually mature to attain the perfect image of our Lord Jesus Christ. Shalom.

PRAYER

Holy Spirit, lead and empower us to be fishers of the lost and the perishing in the world and endow the Church with resources, divine wisdom, a sense of direction and purpose to disciple believers into the perfect image of our Lord and Master Jesus Christ. Amen.