“I am a disciple of Jesus Christ! I am part of a fellowship of the unashamed. The die is cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I am a disciple of His. I won’t back down, slow down, let up, back away, or be stilled. My past is redeemed; my presence makes sense; my future is secure. I am finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, lame vision, mundane talking, stingy giving and dwarf goals. I no longer have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, rewarded. I live in the present, walk by faith, learn by patience, live by prayer, and labor by power. My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven. My road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions are few. My Guide is reliable. My mission is clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of my enemies, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the name of mediocrity. I won’t give up, shut up, or let up until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up, and preached up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ! I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till all know, work till He stops me. And when He comes for His own, He will have no problem recognizing me, for my colors are clear, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ.”
This is one of several versions of this article and the author is unknown. A “disciple” is “a follower or student of a teacher” (New Oxford American Dictionary). A disciple is “a learner, indicating thought accompanied by endeavour; hence it denotes one who follows one’s teaching” (W. E. Vine: Thus, to be a Disciple of Jesus Christ, one must study His teachings and follow them.)
In the New Testament there are a number of terms used to identify and describe the followers of Jesus Christ; “disciple” is one of them. We are also designated as “Christians” (Acts 11:26), and “saints” (I Cor. 1:2). Jude addressed the Christians he wrote to as “the sanctified, preserved and called” (Jude 1). John spoke of us as “sons of God” in I John 3:1-2.
But no matter which term we address, as Christians, as disciples, as sons of God, as those who have been sanctified (saints), as those who have been called, more is expected of us. When we identify ourselves after this manner, God has a right to expect more out of us; so do our friends, our families, and yes, even our enemies.
The life of a disciple is described in a variety of ways also. It is pictured as a race (Heb. 12:1-2), a walk (I John 1:7), a fight (I Tim. 6:12), a pressing toward the mark (Phil. 3:14), and even as a wrestling match (Eph. 6:12). We must “run with patience” (Heb. 12), “not as uncertainly” (I Cor. 9:26); we are to “walk in the light” (I John 1:7), “walk by faith” (II Cor. 5:7), and “walk as He walked (I John 2:6). We are to “endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ” (II Tim. 2:3), and “fight, not as one that beateth the air” (I Cor. 9:26).
Examine these passages carefully; read the first paragraph again. Are you a disciple of Jesus Christ?
Paul M. Wilmoth
(January 18, 1944 – April 5, 2021)