Fully Devoted: The ConclusionSample

Becoming Fully Devoted

We’ve accepted the invitation to become an apprentice of Jesus, our teacher, rabbi, and king. He has forgiven our sins, freed us from shame, and filled us with His Spirit. Now, we’re on the journey to become His fully devoted followers. The Bible calls this journey discipleship. What is discipleship?

Discipleship is the process of becoming like Jesus for the sake of others.

It’s not a one-time decision, but an ongoing process. Discipleship is the daily commitment to choose obedience to God’s words over obedience to our desires. It’s a journey filled with ups and downs, highs and lows, victories and defeats, as we stumble and fumble our way after Jesus.

As you look back on this journey we’ve been on from Genesis to Revelation, Creation to New Creation, what has changed in you?

If someone were to ask you what God is like, what would you say? Would you tell them about His creative power in Genesis? His miraculous deliverance of the Israelites in Exodus? The way He sees, He knows, and He cares for those the rest of society has overlooked and pushed aside? Would you talk about how in Jesus, God came close enough for us to know? Or how after the day of Pentecost, the Spirit of God is now alive in us? Or would you talk about the ways God has made Himself known to you? How even when you were still a sinner, He showed you grace?

As you reflect on who God is, how has that changed the way you see yourself? Are you beginning to see the value and potential that God sees? One of the interesting aspects of discipleship is the way the power of the gospel in our lives makes us more and more aware of just how sinful we are, and at the same time, makes us more and more aware of how good Jesus is. Have you started seeing how the contrast between our sinfulness and God’s holiness is actually what gives us the foundation to live with real confidence?

How have your relationships with others changed? Have you tasted the joy that comes from forgiving others just as God has forgiven you? Do you still put up walls to protect yourself, or are you showing others who you really are and inviting them to do the same? The power of God in our lives never just stops at how we think about God and ourselves. It always extends to the way we interact with others. One evidence of discipleship taking place is a newfound intimacy and fulfillment in our relationships with others: relationships defined by honesty, vulnerability, and compassion, where defensiveness, ego, and bitterness have been set aside. Have you experienced what it really means to be adopted into a family stitched together by the Spirit of God and united under the Name that is above all names?

What about who you prioritize throughout your day? Are you still caught up in the rat race of meeting the needs of me, myself, and I? Or are you beginning to focus your time, energy, and attention on the least, the last, and the lost? Have you learned to take the posture of a servant and put the needs of others at the top of your list? How have those moments changed you? Is it making more sense why Jesus put such a high priority on serving others?

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” Matthew 11:28-30 MSG

Have you felt the truth of these words yet? Are you starting to? This is what discipleship looks like. It’s the radical redefinition of everything we are. We’re created to be people who love God with every part of our being—heart, soul, mind, and strength—and who love others the same way Jesus has loved us. We’re on the journey to become fully devoted followers of Christ.

As we near the very end of this journey together, we’re going to use this final week to explore, once again, how we can embrace this journey called discipleship and learn the unforced rhythms of grace as apprentices of King Jesus.

“The greatest issue facing the world today, with all its heartbreaking needs, is whether those who, by profession or culture, are identified as ’Christians’ will become disciples—students, apprentices, practitioners—of Jesus Christ, steadily learning from him how to live the life of the Kingdom of the Heavens into every corner of human existence.” —Dallas Willard

Journaling Questions

• What verse or verses stood out to you the most in today’s reading? Write them in your journal.
• What has changed most over the past months about your view of God? Your view of yourself? Your view of others?
• How has your perception of what it means to be a fully devoted follower of Christ changed over the past months?

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