We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.
Hebrews 12:2
What do we tell others about our faith? When was the last time we actually had a discussion about faith? One of the challenges of being a resilient exile living in a digital Babylon is describing to people what we believe and why. Where do we start? This week we want to think about discipleship and how to help others find a resilient faith that will help them serve God today.
In Hebrews 12, the writer is building on the importance of faith as described in the faith chapter (Hebrews 11). Now they are trying to help us develop our faith. We are only able to run the race God sets out for us by focusing on Jesus. He is the one who both gives us faith and makes that faith whole. While this sounds easy, it presents multiple issues for the modern-day disciple.
First, when we focus on Jesus many of the other things that divide Christians fall away. Our faith must be built on the cornerstone of Jesus. Some people get confused when they read Scripture and get lost in the forest instead of focusing on the Jesus tree, so to speak. Jesus says all Scripture (Law and prophets) is summed up by loving God and loving each other (Mark 12:29-31). In the gospel of Mark, Jesus tells us that these are the greatest commands. In other words, agape love trumps all other things we think are important. Jesus summarizes the whole of Scripture for us with one word: love.
Disciples in the first century followed Jesus and saw firsthand who He was and what He taught. They saw Him reach out to everyone. He healed leapers and bleeders. He talked to tax collectors and prostitutes. He loved His friends and enemies. He loved God by doing what He asked. We are called to teach people how to become like Jesus by being like Jesus. Jesus gives us hope. He teaches us to love. He lights our faith fire. We need to focus on being like Jesus and avoid all the other things that so easily entangle us (vs 1).
Discipleship today begins and ends with Jesus. We keep our eyes on Jesus and not on what we think. We let the Spirit lead us. We study Scripture so we can help others find Jesus. We attend Church to grow stronger together. If the Church is the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:27), then we all need to work together to show Jesus to the world. We often start children with the stories of the OT, but we also talk about Jesus. Disciples need to be like Jesus. We need to love like Jesus. We need to show the world that Jesus is alive and well in us.
Scripture: Hebrews 12:1-4
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