As I wrote yesterday, I have been doing a lot of thinking about discipleship and retirement. I retired a few years ago from full-time ministry, but as I discovered, I did not retire from being a disciple of Christ Jesus my LORD and Savior. I wrote of two aspects of discipleship (making Jesus LORD of our lives and making other disciples). But when I finished yesterday’s devotion, I thought of three more: Obedience, Love and Fruitfulness
Obedience is not something that we talk about much anymore. About the only time I hear it mentioned is in reference to obedience training for our pups. People talk about following your heart, doing your own thing, etc.
Obedience, however, is vital to discipleship. Jesus said, “Those who accept my commands and obey them are the ones who love me.” [John 14:21 NLT]
Love is also an integral part of being a disciple of Christ. It is the evidence that we are part of God’s family. [1John 3:10]
According to Scripture, love is not an emotion; it is an action. We love people by looking out for their interest, by thinking of them instead of ourselves.
Finally, disciples of Christ are to be fruitful. Technically, producing fruit is not our “job,” our job is to abide in Christ and the fruit will come – and that fruit we bear is the very character of Christ Jesus. [John 15:1-8]
And we are right back where we started. I retired from ministry a few years ago, but I have not retired from acknowledging Jesus as LORD, from living with hope amid a dying world. I have not retired from obedience, love, or bearing fruit. I have not retired from being a disciple of Christ Jesus.
