Jesus told his disciples, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit – fruit that will last” (John 15:16).
The call of discipleship is a personal invitation from Jesus to follow Him and become like Him. It’s a call to surrender, to trust, and to obey. This call is a growing conviction based on certain well-defined principles laid down in the word of God. As one subjects himself to the Lordship of Christ and walks with the Lord in the light of His word, seeking to fulfill the will of God in his life, he discovers that eventually he is led to the place where he hears the still small clear voice of the Lord calling him to His service.
The Call of Discipleship requires the following:
- An Open Mind: This implies receptiveness and willingness to follow, hearing the call of Christ.
- An Attentive Ear: An open mind must also be accompanied by an attentive ear. It is not enough just to get rid of all the deceptive preconceived ideas, we must also have our ears open to the still clear voice of the Holy Spirit of God.
- A Pure Heart: Understanding God’s truth or ascertaining God’s will is not just an intellectual exercise. It has a moral and spiritual dimension to it. God reveals His truth not to those who want to know it, but to those who are prepared to do it. God reveals His purpose only to those who obey His laws (Psalms 24: 3 – 4, Hebrews 12: 14).
The person with unconfessed sin in his life will wait in vain for any call to service, other than the call to repent (Isaiah 55: 7). Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God. (Matthew 5:8).
- Busy Hands: It is rightly said, “An idle mind is a devil’s workshop”. Satan prefers idle hands, God certainly does not. He has always called busy people – people who are already at work, to be His servants. The scripture attests to this truth:
- Moses – was busy with his flocks at Horeb.
- Gideon – was busy threshing wheat by the wine press.
- Saul – was busy searching for his father’s lost donkeys.
- David – was busy taking care of his father’s sheep.
- Elisha – was busy ploughing with twelve yokes of oxen.
- Nehemiah – was busy bearing the king’s wine cup.
- Amos – was busy attending to his flock.
- Peter and Andrew – were busy casting a net into the sea.
- James and John – were busy mending their nets.
- Matthew – was busy collecting tax.
- Saul – was busy persecuting the followers of Jesus.
Martin Luther, John Wesley, Adoniram Judson, William Carey, Hudson Taylor, all these people were busy, hard-working people, when God called them.
- Ready Feet: We must be ready at any time to receive and obey the call of God. The psalmist says, “I will run in the way of thy commandments”. (Psalms 119:32). The turtle cannot move unless it puts its head forward which clearly implies that its not sufficient just to have a desire to follow the Lord and to serve Him, our actions must also speak out loud, thus reflecting our obedience and willingness to follow and serve Him.
The Call of Discipleship also includes the following:
- The Call to live a Holy Life: The call to live a holy life is a general call after the call to repentance. All believers are called to be saints (Rom 1:7). The ultimate purpose of such a call is that they may be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ (Rom 8:30). We read in Thessalonians 4: 7, 8 – “For God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but to live a holy life”. Also, we read in I Peter 1:16, “You shall be holy for I am holy”. We also read in Hebrews 12:14, “Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness, no one will see the Lord”.
- The Call to be Effective Witnesses: All believers in Christ are called to be God’s fellow workers or co – labourers. I Corinthians 3: 9 – 15 says “For we are God’s fellow workers, you are God’s field, God’s building”. We are called to build the church of God on the strong foundation, that is Jesus Christ. It is rightly said, “If a Christian rests, he will rust”. We cannot just keep the good news to ourselves, like the servant who hid the talent of money and did not do anything to increase or multiply it. Sometimes sharing the gospel directly could be a challenge, but our lifestyle should speak volumes and thus we ourselves should be a living testimony for the glory and manifestation of His kingdom.
- The Call to Full – Time Christian Service: All believers in Christ are called to saints and witnesses in Christ for sure, but not all are called to be Apostles (I Cor 12: 29). Paul in his epistles is careful to point out that he was a genuine apostle (I Cor 9: 1,2). Moreover, he insisted that he was an apostle by the will of God (I Cor 1:1) and by the call of God (Rom 1:1). He did not choose this high calling (I Cor 9: 16 -18) nor was it conferred on him by others (Gal 1:1).
Therefore the call for the full – time ministry is a very definite call. Jesus called Peter and Andrew to follow Him and immediately they left their nets and followed Him. Likewise, James and John on being called, left their boat and father and followed Jesus. They thus became the “fishers of men” thereafter .
Discipleship is a life-long journey of transformation, spiritual growth and service and the journey is certainly not always a smooth road. But the word of God reassures us in –
I Thessalonians 5: 24 – “He who calls you is faithful, and He will do it”.
