Fully Devoted: The ConclusionSample

Discipleship Is a Process

Becoming more like Jesus for the sake of others is a process. This process starts with us deciding to accept God’s invitation, but that isn’t where it stops.

Every new role in life brings with it new challenges that we must grow into. It could be the increased responsibility of entering adulthood, starting a new career, getting married, or even having kids. No matter what the role is, filling it fully requires us to grow and change.

The role of a disciple of Jesus is just like that. The moment we begin this journey we’re stepping into a role that is beyond our current capacity. It’s a role we spend the rest of our lives trying to grow into. This is the process of discipleship.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” Matthew 16:24 NIV

The process of discipleship is defined by self-denial, suffering, and obedience, which do not come naturally or easily to any of us. Following Jesus requires us to move past our insecurities, set aside our egos, and lay down our desires for the sake of others. How can we possibly do this well when it seems like the odds are stacked against us?

Throughout the Bible, three themes show up repeatedly to help us grow into our calling as disciples. They are responding faithfully to everyday trials, practicing spiritual disciplines, and the work of the Holy Spirit in us.

These three ideas have been called “the golden triangle” of spiritual formation. Each of them is an essential ingredient in learning the unforced rhythms of grace that Jesus wants to teach us, and each one supports the others just as each side of a triangle supports the others.

The first side of the triangle is responding faithfully to everyday trials. Every time we’re confronted with a trial or a hardship, we’re given the choice to react based on our emotions and circumstances, or to respond based on what is good and true. Whichever option we choose trains us to keep repeating that choice in the future. James challenged the early Christians:

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-4 NIV

James understood that the life we live tomorrow is based on the choices we make today. The big choices and the little ones. He’s showing us that responding to these everyday challenges with faith produces perseverance in us, which makes us more mature and complete. In other words, it makes us more like Jesus.

But how can we learn to respond to these trials with faith instead of simply reacting out of frustration? This brings us to the next side of the triangle: practicing spiritual disciplines.

The reason a professional athlete can step into the arena on game day with confidence and deliver a stunning performance is because of the countless hours of practice they have put in behind the scenes. What seems natural and effortless to them came from dedicated training and coaching.

Is discipleship really all that different?

So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. ... 1 Corinthians 9:26-27 NLT

It’s not a coincidence that discipleship and discipline come from the same root word. It might be because discipleship requires discipline. It’s not just something that happens overnight, and it certainly doesn’t happen without trying. Discipleship is choosing to deny ourselves, take up our crosses, and follow Jesus. And that requires effort.

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. 2 Peter 1:5-7 NIV

Practicing spiritual disciplines is a time-tested way that followers of Jesus have made every effort to become more like Jesus. Jesus Himself practiced these disciplines, and as His disciples, we too are meant to follow His example.

They include things like prayer, studying the Bible, giving, fasting, being in community, confession, repentance, silence and solitude, Sabbath, and more.

These disciplines enable us to practice the way of Jesus so that when we step into the real world, with all its messiness and struggles, we can respond to whatever comes our way with faith instead of frustration. And practicing these disciplines is a way we can invite the Holy Spirit to transform us from the inside out.

Which brings us to the third theme: the work of the Holy Spirit in us.

We can never forget that we’re not in control of our spiritual formation. We’re in control of our actions, but it is the Holy Spirit working in us that transforms us.

But, the Holy Spirit will not force us to change. He will work with us, but we must invite Him. When we practice these disciplines, we’re choosing to partner with the Spirit. As the Holy Spirit works in us, the fruit of the Spirit is produced: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. As the fruit of the Spirit is produced in us, we get better at responding faithfully to everyday trials— which takes us back to the first side of the golden triangle.

This is what discipleship is all about: the process of becoming like Jesus for the sake of others. It’s not something that happens overnight, but instead is something we dedicate ourselves to, and through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can learn to live freely and rightly as disciples.

Journaling Questions

• What verse or verses stand out to you most in today’s reading? Write them in your journal.
• Which side of the spiritual formation triangle stands out to you most? (How we respond to trials, practicing spiritual disciplines, and inviting the work of the Holy Spirit.) Which do you want to develop more?
• Journal about a time when God used something difficult in your life to make you more like Jesus.

Memory Verse

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35 NIV