Life on Life

Jesus famously said to his disciples, “Make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19).

This past week at SOW we’ve had 2 staff from Navigators visiting and leading seminars on discipleship. It’s been hugely encouraging having them around and sharing the house with them. We use Navigators material here year-round, and this has been a week of focussed attention on that.

Discipleship means living in response to the gospel - in faith and obedience to Jesus. The central conviction of discipleship is that Jesus gives us not just salvation and a ticket to heaven, but the privilege of growing in a relationship with him and being used by him in his service. He’s not after converts, but disciples. So the Navigators material we use is all about encouraging Jesus’ followers in that, and equipping them to then help others. Jesus’ vision and strategy is disciple cycles - disciples who make disciples who make disciples…

As we’ve thought together about various principles of disciple-making, the thing that has most struck me again is the call not just to teach others but to share life with others, setting an example. As the Apostle Paul said to the believers in Thessaloniki:

“Our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake. You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. The Lord’s message rang out from you…” (1 Thessalonians 1:5-8)

Paul and his co-workers didn’t just turn up and preach, then retreat to their hotel rooms. They could say, “You know how we lived among you for your sake”. They shared their lives, setting an example, which the Thessalonians then imitated, and then modelled to others. Disciple cycles.

This has been deeply challenging for me. It’s one thing to come out to Africa to teach and preach. To do that well will require hard work, careful study and much prayer. But that is only half the job. I am also called to “set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity” (1 Timothy 4:12). That is an all-encompassing call. I know that sharing life like that will involve great effort and will challenge my sinful selfishness in all kinds of ways: travelling through the heat when I’d rather stay cool, receiving unexpected guests when I’d rather rest, sharing possessions when I’d rather hold on to them, battling through awkward culture-clashing conversation…

I find it very tempting to fall back on my job description as a “Bible teacher”. I can’t do everything - I reassure myself - and my primary work is to teach the Bible and train people in their Bible teaching. That is quite true. But it doesn’t excuse me from the call to share my life as well as the gospel.

I will only be able to do this if God’s Spirit changes my selfish heart and fills it with his love: “We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well” (1 Thessalonians 2:8).