Discipleship, Part 1

By Cathy Ramsey

A disciple is a dedicated follower of Jesus. In the ancient world, becoming a disciple was a deliberate apprenticeship which made a fully formed disciple a living copy of the master. While most of us will not make it a deliberate apprenticeship, wouldn’t it be wonderful to deliberately strive to become more Jesus-like with study, prayer, worship, and changes in behavior? While discipleship is multi-faceted and a basic part of spiritual growth, I am focusing on the following scripture for this devotional.

Jesus says in John 13:34-35, “I give you a new commandment that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (NRSV) Wouldn’t the world be a much better place if we all loved each other like Jesus loves us? Jesus loved us so much that he gave his life for our salvation. His words in John 13:34-35 were said just hours before he died for our sins; to save us given his perfect love for us.

If we loved the way Jesus loves, we would not be judgmental, critical, or unkind to each other. We would not get defensive or argumentative or become angry when things don’t go the way we think they should. We would not shake our heads and roll our eyes when someone says something we do not agree with. We would not tailgate or cut people off in traffic. We would love those we might consider our enemies (or at least not our friends). But Jesus makes it very clear that loving one another unconditionally is critical in our efforts to become disciples (followers of Jesus). Wow, this shouldn’t be so hard to do, but it is.

What about loving those with whom we disagree? In “The Good and Beautiful Community”, James Bryan Smith writes that we can love fellow Christians with whom we disagree by the following means: 1) Treat them as companions. 2) Do not think or speak evil of them. 3) Pray for them. 4) Encourage them to do good. 5) Collaborate with them in ministry.

In the “Believe” study we studied at EPC a few years ago, Randy Frazee says, “ Instead of us trying hard to love God and love others, we receive Christ’s love for us and then pass it on to others. This is what Jesus did as our example. He received the love of the Father and passed it on to us. It is God’s love in us that gives us the capacity to love others.” Further, he says, “Living a life of love requires the presence of God’s love and power within us. When we yield to this presence in our lives, it produces within us love for others… Our capacity to love begins with receiving God’s love for us. From this reservoir we pour out love toward one another. The presence of God’s Spirit in us, working through us to overcome our passion for self in favor of loving others, is confirmation that we are, in fact, children of God… Love is the ultimate expression of becoming like Jesus. God the Father desires for us to unconditionally and sacrificially love others… With God’s love and presence in us, we can become more and more like Jesus.”

I read this in a commentary on John 13: 34-35: “As Christ has loved his people freely, notwithstanding all their unworthiness and ungratefulness, so should they love one another, though there may be many things in them observable, which are disagreeable; as Christ loves all his children without any distinction, so should they love one another, whether poor or rich, weaker or stronger, lesser or greater believers; and as Christ loves them not in word only, but in deed and in truth, so should they love one another with a pure heart fervently, and by love serve one another.”

We have sung this in our EPC choir. It was written in 1966 by a Catholic priest, Father Peter Scholtes for the youth choir in his church in Chicago.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1f53jun15A

Prayer For Brotherly Love Towards Others

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for Your deep love towards me and thank You for sending Your only begotten Son, my Saviour Jesus Christ to suffer on the cross for my sake, so that my sins could be forgiven and that I may live with You forever in heaven. Lord, I know that I do not warrant Your love and yet You have showered unconditional love and grace towards me through Christ, for which I praise and thank You.

But Lord, You desire all Your children to love others as Christ loved us, but my love is poor and weak and is far removed for all that You desire of me. Fill me I pray, with the love of Christ that I may love others in the same way that Christ loved me, so that as Your love pours into my soul, I may be used as a conduit for Christ’s love to stream out to others with whom I come into contact.

Help me to demonstrate Your love, not only to those that are lovable, but also to those who lash out at me through pain or anger, disappointment or loss. May the love of Jesus be manifested in me, and may the love of Jesus be distributed, by grace through faith, to all with whom I come in contact. In Jesus' name I pray,

Amen.

(Source: https://prayer.knowing-jesus.com/Prayers-for-Love#1157)