Apprentice or Christian?
Earlier in the year (all the way back in April, which is somehow already 5 months ago) I went on a Christian teen retreat for a weekend. When we finished the retreat we got a book. The book is called Practicing the Way. This book really hits some hard points. I haven’t fully finished it because I have so many Bible study books, so I won’t be able to cover the whole thing, so just bear with me here. 😂
The main point of the whole book: To follow Jesus is to become his apprentice. There are three goals in life, which are (1) to be with Jesus (2) to become like Jesus and (3) to do as Jesus did. Obviously, we are not perfect, but Jesus was. We should want to strive to be like him. He should be our focus point. We need to keep our eyes “on the prize”, which in this case is Jesus. He is the focal point of our lives.
The term “Christian” literally means “little Christ”. Many people in the United States think that a Christian is just someone who holds to the “bare bones” of the Christian faith and may or may not occasionally attend church. Because people believe that is all that it takes to be “a Christian” many people claim to be one. In the USA, 63% are Christians, but only 4% would be considered as actual apprentices of Jesus. As John Mark Comer says in the book:
Jesus is not looking for converts to Christianity; he’s looking for apprentices in the kingdom of God.
There is a difference between being “a Christian” and an apprentice of God.
A major “roadblock” on the road to becoming a person of love is sin. Sin is basically missing the mark. We miss the mark of being perfect. We lie. We cheat. We steal. The list goes on and on, which further proves to point that we miss the mark.
Think of it as a target. Right in the middle is perfect. We set our sight on something that should not be at the center of our life, so then our “arrow” doesn’t hit the center because it has been misdirected by something that is not perfect. It missed the mark.
Another quote from the book that I love is this:
For Jesus, salvation is less about getting you into heaven and more about getting heaven into you.
Jesus’ way is narrow. There is a specific path. There aren’t several ways that lead to life. There is only one way, but it’s available to anyone and everyone.
Another quote that follows this subject is this:
Before the apostiles believed in Jesus, he believed in them.
If He has faith in you, you should also have faith in yourself. You can be bold enough to proclaim God to all. Don’t keep it a secret!! Tell it from the rooftops!
That’s it for this post! I am planning to write more about this after I take more notes on the book, so stay tuned for that!! Thank you so much for reading. If you want to see some of my notes/thoughts, feel free to DM me.
If He has faith in you, you should also have faith in yourself.
What you've written is absolutely key! I wish I had learned this when I was your age. I've only realized in the last few years how important this is. This encompasses so much of what Jesus taught. Being his apprentice requires surrender, which isn't always easy. It requires choosing His way of acting/reacting, which isn't always what I want to do.