Sawok
Sawok means “disciple” in Thai
Disciple:
student, learner, pupil, follower of a mentor, one who is with their teacher, close
friend, one who is found often with Jesus Christ
This whole year, God has taken me on this journey of discipleship.
What does it look like to be
a disciple of Jesus Christ?
First of all, Jesus says in Matthew 16:24, “If anyone desires to come after me let him deny himself, take up
his cross and follow me.” (he says “if” so it is up to you)
Jesus never forces anyone to follow Him. You must choose for yourself.
Beware!! because the Life of a disciple of Jesus Christ is
all or nothing. It is the best and hardest life ever. When it comes down to it,
all you are doing is
FOLLOWING
JESUS.
DENY SELF.
To deny oneself is to be aware only of Christ and no more of
self, to see only him who goes before and no more the road which is to hard for
us. As Dietrich Bonheoffer
brilliantly puts, “Only when we have become oblivious of self are we ready to
bear the cross for His sake.” A disciple’s eyes are so much on Jesus Christ
that he no longer worries about himself.
FORSAKE ALL.
“whoever does not bear
his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple…whoever of you does not
forsake all that he has cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14)
The journey of a disciple of Jesus Christ begins with
leaving everything behind in order to completely follow the call. He doesn’t
say “be willing to” he says do it. Forget about yourself and your old life to
follow Christ and the new life.
BE LIKE JESUS.
“A disciple is not
above his teacher, nor a servant above his master It is enough for a disciple
that he be like his teacher.” (Matthew 10).
How do you
become like someone? Spend time with them. I will never be greater than Jesus,
but the more I spend time with Him, the more I become like Him. Each day, I
learn more about what He would do in each situation.
Spend my time like He did: time along with God, time with
His disciples, time with the sinners, time with the religious people, time with
the crowds and time with his best friends. He didn’t try to do it on his own
nor did he spend all his time with one type of people.
ABIDE IN HIS WORD.
“If you abide in my
word, you are my disciples indeed.” (John 8)
No matter how long or experienced you are in something, you
must stick to the basics. Jesus speaks so we can know what to do. The second we try
to form our own standards or interpret what we think is right it turns into disobedience. We can’t make up our own rules. Same with the life of a disciple. We must always be in his word.
Always be listening to Him. Never think we can take our eyes off him because we know what to do. we will never know what to do unless he is speaking and leading us.
The call of God. We must believe Him and obey. How can we
obey if we don’t know what to do? Disciples have nothing this world has to
offer so their only hope is Jesus Christ.
We don’t live on “bread alone but
on every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” (Deuteronomy 8:3)
I have never realized how opposite Jesus’ teachings are
compared to the world. Growing up, I was always told to be strong and bold.
Jesus says you are blessed when you are poor in spirit. When you have “lost
yourself and everything that can make you rich.” I always thought I was
supposed to protect my rights and fight for myself. Jesus says blessed are the
meek. Those who have no rights because their rights belong to God. Life is
about happiness and being friends with everyone…right? Jesus said blessed are
those who are persecuted for righteousness. The world is supposed to be
offended by my life. I may suffer for
a just cause.
A disciple of Jesus follows his word. Jesus said a lot of
crazy things. He says “if someone takes your goods, don’t ask for them back.”
He says “don’t worry about your life”
(Matthew 6). He tells his disciples not to bring anything extra for their
journey so they can trust in Him. God says a lot of crazy things, but if we
fully trust him and our eyes are on Him, we won’t question; we will just obey.
REALLY LOVE.
“But I say to you who
hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse
you, and pray for those who spitefully use you.” (Luke 6:27)
Later on in the chapter, it talks about how anyone can love
someone who loves them back. Disciples are called to an unnatural love. Love that is not given back. We are
called to love the people that are not going to love us back. In fact, they
might treat us horribly and we are supposed to love them. That love is not
natural, it comes from God. This world needs real love, love that is deeper
than normal love. Bonhoeffer
states, “No where is service more necessary or more blessed than when we serve
our enemies. There is no sacrifice too great to make for our enemies..who is to
be the object of a great love but those who hearts are stifled with hatred.”
The more these people treat us badly, the more we should pray for them. In
doing so, we bring them and ourselves closer to God.
LOOK AT GOD.
“Seek first the
kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added to
you.” (Matthew 6:33)
The life of a disciple is always looking at God. Choosing to
follow His leading. It is more important to know God, to love God, to listen to
Him, to obey. Choosing to look at his kingdom. Choosing Him and not myself. A
disciple looks at Jesus Christ and not the road. Follows Jesus instead of our
own desires. Looks at Him first and always. Never wondering if we are missing
out because we are confident in him and his love.
MAKE DISCIPLES.
“Go, therefore and
make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father, and of
the son and of the holy spirit, teaching them to observe all the things I have
commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew
28)
We can’t be satisfied to live this adventurous abundant
life. We have to teach others as well. A disciple is obedient. We must go. We
must share. We must invite others like Jesus invited us. We can’t just believe
and listen-we must do. Jesus tells us his family is those who “do the will of
God.” Disciples don’t try to figure everything out and decide why their teacher
says certain things, they just follow.
A disciple of Jesus Christ
is one who is with Him and who follows Him wherever He goes. I am a daughter of
God. By God’s grace, I have been called to be His disciple. I want to walk so
close to Him that the dust from his sandals is all over me.
(a wise man once said that)
p.s. We are heading to Malaysia tomorrow. Pray for us.
