Go! |
| Posted by Bill Orf (billorf) on Sep 07 2007 at 12:23 AM |
Go therefore and make disciples! I want to continue to be a part of this incredible commission that we as Christians have been called to. Over the past several weeks of reflection and reorientation to what our Father has asked of me, I have been refined back to the commandment to embrace the ancient art of discipleship. There are so many things that we have been taught in the church and we have, in many cases, become very educated Christians that are nothing more than saved, moral, book smart, citizens. Many have forgotten that we will still be judged on what we have done with or for those our Father has placed in our lives. How are you doing in this area of discipleship?
There is a principle that we must live by and My Pastor Andy Taylor has taught me this: We teach what we know, but we impart who we are. We can see this principle best by looking at our children or better yet by observing how our parents have imparted into us. Have you noticed how you find yourself doing and saying things just like your Father did? I do, and these things consist of the traits I am grateful for and those that I am not so grateful for. I can't remember a whole lot of what my dad told me but because of the amount of time we spent together, I am a lot like him. He imparted who he was into me. As we mature in our Christian lives we are being imparted into by the Holy Spirit as we spend time with him. This is how we become more like Jesus, from glory to glory. But the evidence of these levels of glory is much deeper than just becoming more moral. The evidence is that we prove our love to those around us. We are now to look around at the people our Father has placed in our lives and we are to make disciples. Notice I did not say friends or students, I said disciples. In order to truly disciple a person we must have very intimate relationships with them. We are to become one with these people as the Father and Son are one.
The past two weeks I have upped the ante on how that shows up in my life and it has required a major shift in the value I place on those the Lord has given me. I no longer look at my inner circle of relationships as common or expendable. I am making every attempt to consider them Holy and sacred relationships. The primary person I am disciplining, or imparting into, is my precious bride Leslie. Our Father told us that we should become one and that is taking place in a purer sense as the days go by. But my wife is not being so much influenced by what I say, but by who I am. She is one person I can not fool. The next is my three gifts, Colton, Tanner, and Holden. They will be formed by the character I live out before them and the way I prove my love for them. I have often said that the greatest thing I can do for them is love my God and love their mom. Beyond my home, I have identified, by name, those that I believe the Lord has placed in my care. I desire to say at the end of my life, as Jesus did, that I have not lost any of those you have given to me.
We as the body of Christ must have a shift in what we view our lives to be about. We have been set apart for this Holy purpose. Go!
A disciple of Jesus Christ,
Todd
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