To pursue discipleship to full maturity.
Colossians 1:28
28 He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. (NIV)
To pursue full maturity in Christ is discipleship. Discipleship is the discipline to submit to the Holy Spirit and exert His power in us to live according to the teachings of Jesus Christ. Jesus broke down all that He taught as learning to love better like God. But love is not static. Love can progress and diminish. Love is a skill that can be improved upon or relinquished. God is love and Christ is the full manifestation of that love. To be a disciple, we must learn to love as Christ did in an ever-increasing way. He loved the Father. He loved His neighbor. He loved His enemies. He loved Himself. The telos of discipleship is to love like Christ. We must pursue full maturity.
Discipleship is essential for the mission of making other disciples. The souls of men are attracted to God because of His love. They may come to God for a variety of reasons, but what inspires people to truly follow Christ wholeheartedly is their awareness of God’s love for them. And if we are the ambassadors of Christ, we must reflect this love that says, “Father, forgive them…” as they crucify Him.
What does it take to become a disciple of Christ? It is the wisdom of God, which is a new paradigm by which we see the world and God’s love in it. We cannot emulate what we don’t understand. This wisdom comes from the Spirit of God.
Seeking the wisdom of God to know the love of God then to be transformed in that love, then to love like He is what achieves the mission. The mission is to be used by God in this way that others might be transformed by His love. As they love themselves better, destructive behaviors will cease. Relationships with others will improve. Their joy and inner peace will increase. Depression, anger, bitterness, and anxiety will desist. Souls will be saved for eternity as families are rescued in the here and now.
To be used by God in this way, we must grasp the notion of full maturity. We must be continually growing in our wisdom of God, our imitation of God’s love to self, to neighbor, to an enemy, and most importantly, to God.
Prayer: Lord, help me not to settle in my walk, but to pursue full maturity to be used by You to rescue lives, families, and bloodlines. Amen.
