Monday, July 18, 2011

#disciple

"Our life is not a dress rehearsal. You have to live every day and get something out of it. Don't make any excuses.”
– Herman Edwards

It all starts today, every single day. As I approach my fortieth birthday at the end of this year, I’m feeling what everyone said one might feel around age 40 – physically, emotionally and spiritually. In a word, “Wow!” Everything changes. If I had not been prepared for this and for other monumental stages in my life, I’m fairly certain I might be freaking out a little bit right about now. Forty years? I mean, chances are I have fewer years left on the other side of 40 than the first. And it only feels like yesterday that I was very young. Time flies…fast!

Life is difficult, but through the investments that have been made into my life I can say “Life is so good.” Perhaps the best thing that has happened to me in my life is the men of the Christian faith who have poured into me, men like John Strappazon, Curt Hall, Jerry Abbott, and Ed Newell. These men have really helped me understand what it is like to live the life of a disciple of Jesus Christ.

What can I ever do to repay them? I finally get it. Just.Keep.Discipling. Or “#disciple” as I will start talking about more often on Twitter. Be a disciple, make a disciple. These are the aims of my life, and I will be one and make one with everything I’ve got for as long as I live (and who knows, I might even get more than 40 more years on the other side of 40!).

Disciple is both a noun and a verb. Check this out:
*dis•ci•ple
   [dih-sahy-puh l] verb, -pled, -pling.
–noun
1.
Religion .
a.
one of the 12 personal followers of Christ.
b.
one of the 70 followers sent forth by Christ. Luke 10:1.
c.
any other professed follower of Christ in His lifetime.
2.
any follower of Christ.
3.
( initial capital letter ) a member of the Disciples of Christ.
4.
a person who is a pupil or an adherent of the doctrines ofanother; follower: a disciple of Freud.

–verb (used with object)
5.
Archaic . to convert into a disciple.
6.
Obsolete . to teach; train.

It’s true. Life really is not a dress rehearsal. I’ve tried to, by the Spirit of Holiness, give it everything I’ve had, but I can still improve on leading in His strength, His knowledge and His wisdom. After all, that’s what a “#disciple” does? Right? No excuses. I have dreams, I have plans, and somehow I believe God has even bigger plans and dreams for me in His story.

Simply put, as a disciple of Jesus Christ, I’m going for it, and I’m going big! I expect great things, no excuses.

How about you? Everyone is a disciple. Everyone follows someone or something. Who are you following? What are you expecting? Any advice for me as I “go big” in my journey?

*Source: dictionary.com