What a True Disciple is Not
There is a long list of characteristics that can be attributed to what a true disciple of Jesus Christ is and how they should exemplify themselves to the world and everyone in their life. Without going through and identifying each of those characteristics, we can turn to the direction that was clearly given to us by Jesus in Matthew 5:8: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your father that is in heaven.”
The reason we do this is because when we take on the life and mission of Jesus Christ as our own, we give up our selfish pursuits, and live for the eternal purposes of our God. In Galatians 2:20, Paul says it this way: “ I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”
A disciple of Jesus Christ must know that they no longer have the privilege or the right to sit in complacency thinking of ways to maximize utility in life for themselves. This type of behavior and thought process directly interrupts our purpose as Christians. And to the detriment of our testimonies, it becomes a token for the lost world that we are not so different from them. By taking all of this into consideration, one characteristic or continuous thought of every disciple should be that we are not self-focused.
How do we know if we are self-focused? One indication of being self-focused is that we are constantly distracted by feelings and thoughts of being mistreated or offended, which are generally brought on by a time of suffering. Are there times that a disciple of Christ is going to experience suffering in their lives? Absolutely. In fact, those times are promised to us in scripture. 1 Peter 4:12-13 tells us that we shouldn’t be caught off guard when a trial of suffering enters into our lives but that we should instead rejoice in the opportunity to take part in the sufferings of our Lord.
For someone that is self-focused, an uncomfortable moment creates an opportunity to wrap themselves in feelings and thoughts of despair. For this individual, the light of Jesus Christ in their life becomes dangerously dim before the world and what can be gleaned from them by anyone they are investing in is the idea that when times get tough we focus inward on ourselves. We become people who murmur and dispute and in the midst of a perverse nation, we blend in with the masses. God forbid we would be discipling this mindset into the lives of other believers.
The thoughts, feelings, views of self, and reactions to difficult situations in life for a true disciple all indicate that their focus is on the mission of Jesus Christ and not on themselves. We are called to be pleasers of our God, so we must ask ourselves accordingly: To the rest of the world, who does it look like we are living to please? A true disciple is fixed on the next step Christ has for them in the mission and is predetermined that they will take that step according to his will. This is the mindset that causes proper perspective to pour out of a disciple into the people that they are investing in. Something we must understand as followers of Christ is that we are at best servants to our Lord and his people. Mark 9:35 tells us that “…If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.” It takes real maturity in our walks with God to recognize that at our very best all we can be is servants of God’s people. If we are too busy being servants to ourselves, how can that be the case? How can someone put somebody else before themselves in all things if they never learned to die to themselves in the first place? Or if they’ve transgressed to the point that they’ve become the most valuable thing in their immediate vicinity yet again.
John 10:11-13 says, “I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. 12 But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. 13 The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep.”
A self focused disciple is the hireling and because they are too busy thinking about themselves and their own well being, true investment that is based in Jesus Christ does not take place in the life of this believer. And the wolf gets the sheep. The true disciple is the good shepherd and in their self sacrifice recreation of life based in Jesus Christ does take place and the wolf is cut off from getting what it desires. A true disciple is not someone that is self-focused but is someone that is willing to lay their life down for the individuals that God has placed in their lives and for the mission that he has given all of us.
Lastly, Luke 14:33 says, “So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.” In forsaking all that we have, we must also let go of this idea that we’ve reserved a spot in the forefront of our minds for ourselves. We do not need to have our opinions heard on every matter. We do not need to come first when considerations are being made. God does not need to use us the way he uses other people or the way we think we should be used by him. He gave us his grace, so we could rely on it for our strength. He gave us his process for spiritual investment, so we could have a true purpose. He told us to endure hardness, so we could be prepared to embrace the trials and tribulations ahead. And he called us soldiers, so we would be unified in our hearts and minds under the commander that gave his life for us and who we serve with ours now. Be a true disciple and let go of what a true disciple is not.