Getting past the door …

A little boy constantly fell out of bed. No matter what his parents did, the boy couldn’t sleep without rolling out of bed. An uncle came to visit and in the middle of the night the usual thump and cry was heard. In the morning the uncle teased the boy and asked him why he fell out so often. The little fellow thought for a moment and then said, “I don’t know, unless it’s because I stay too close to the place where I get in.”

This story highlights our individual need for discipleship.

Many who enter into a New Covenant relationship with Jesus Christ struggle with falling back into former life patterns. Why? Because they stay too close to the place where they got in; they need to go and grow in Christ. They need to move past the “door,” and walk the Way with the One who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6).

When we become new disciples of Christ, we need that teaching experience which Jesus instructed every disciple to have when He commissioned the church:

“Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you,” Matthew 28:20a.

Disciples are to be taught how to take on both the character and skills of Christ, so that we become like the One we’re following.

“Students are not greater than their teacher. But the student who is fully trained will become like the teacher,” Luke 6:40.

As disciples of Jesus, we should be in a discipling rationship with a seasoned saint so we can learn to become more like Christ; or, we should be discipling new disciples. Better yet, we should be doing both! As we are walking the Way with Christ, learning to become like Him, we should be sharing the Good News with others and discipling those we introduce to Jesus.

To be like our Lord, we need to be disciples who are making disciples.

Are you learning and growing as a disciple of Christ, or are you hanging around the entry point, failing to venture into the Way with Jesus? Are you sharing Christ with others, and discipling those who join you in the journey on the Way?

Scotty