The Discipleship Gap

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Scripture: James 1:22-25 (ESV)

22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

Devotion:

            Today’s message from the Holy Spirit comes to us through the pen of James, Jesus’ brother. It is helpful to remember these words at regular intervals in our walk with the Lord to check in and see how we are doing faith wise. Our culture puts much emphasis on image and perception. In God’s kingdom we are to emphasize actions and faithfulness.

How many of us have spent a few seconds (maybe even minutes?) looking for a cell phone that is in our pocket or even our hand? It is so easy to get wrapped up in looking and forget to see what is right in front of us. So it is, with God’s gift to humankind, Jesus. We get so busy doing things for the Lord that we forget to take time to really see Him for who He is. I, personally, am guilty of this very often. The arrival of grandchildren has made me pay closer attention to God and His gifts to me.

Our Christian culture is very open to error on this point. You see Jesus was more concerned with making disciples than with counting disciples. We all want people to come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. That is not the issue. The issue is about numbers versus depth. It has been said that in America Christianity is 10,000 miles wide and one inch deep. Deep enough to get you wet but not deep enough to drown you.

So, there is a gap in our disciple making. We want to reach out and bring people into the church, as many people as we possibly can. However, once they are in the door, we often let them wander about aimlessly and often drift away walking out the back door of the church and back out into the clutches of the world, the flesh, and the devil. They are probably worse off when they leave than they were when they came. How can we change our behavior, so that as few as possible drift away?

Pay attention to the ones who come into membership. Not just looking at them but looking with them to try to see through their eyes what they are facing daily. Involve them in the life of the church. Make sure to reach out to them and invite them to special events. Help get them connected with a small group or ministry in the church. Do these things regularly and with intention. Together with Jesus we can help close the discipleship gap.

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