Discipleship is Dirty

Jesus got in the mud with me and led me out. This was a great picture of the discipleship Jesus has with us as presented by Randy Alcorn in his novel The Edge of Eternity (purchase here).

That's the truth about discipleship. It's dirty. It's usually a thankless job. It's tough. Making disciples of Christ requires a prideless attitude--a surrendering of needless comfort and self-seeking pleasure. It requires endurance (it's definitely not a sprint!). It takes time to develop.

Now, discipling some people can be a bit easier than others. Sometimes the one we disciple just seems to "get it." He really grasps onto the truth of our Lord and follows eagerly. Other times, as was the case with me for quite some time, we have to really sink in the mud with him and gently lead him out by the hand. This means that we will get--muddy. Mud cakes on and is very uncomfortable (unless you're a 5 year old boy, then you love it). It gets in places you wouldn't expect, and sometimes it is downright aggravating. To put it simply: discipleship is hard work.

But when Jesus told his disciples to make disciples, He wasn't asking them. He was commanding them. And almost all of them went much farther than mud in their disciple-making. They went to their deaths. Making disciples cost them their lives.

Jesus said the greatest commandment was to "love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength." And the second greatest commandment is to "love one another" (Mark 12: 29-31).

Paul said to "bear with one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ" (Galatians 6:2). What's the law of Christ? Love God, love one another.

So what's a little mud? What's a little discomfort? A little caked on yuk? Apparently, it was quite worth it for Jesus and his disciples. Plus, if it's a command by our Master, then disobedience to His command is a sin.

So latch on to this truth. Don't be afraid to call up that person who is in the fringe of your church, or that introvert whose name you can't remember, or that recently divorced lady in your Sunday school class, or that pot-smoking, tattooed up, long-haired, body-pierced dude who just heard the gospel and placed his trust in Jesus.

Anyone can go to church. It takes one who lives above the common to be a disciple-maker.