The Measure of a Disciple

What's the one resolution that if you keep it, you know God will be pleased. Here are some of the most common New Year's Resolutions made:

1. Getting in shape. The most "fit" guy in the Bible would probably be Samson, and his life was a mess.
2. Getting finances under control. Jesus told a story about a rich guy who had his best year ever. He tore down his barns and built new, bigger ones to store all of his stuff. But he ends up dying soon after, and Jesus calls him a fool. He was real rich but didn't honor God.
3. Career/educational success. Solomon had more success and wisdom than anyone, but in the end considered it all worthless.

There is one word, one thing that Jesus calls His disciples to. This is the only way to measure a true disciple. That one word has been written about, sung about, thought about, and cried about more than any other word or idea. The thing that Jesus calls His disciples to is LOVE.

That may seem so elementary to us. It may seem like, "Yeah, of course. I know that." But how many of us live it? Love, the kind that Jesus is talking about, has no boundaries. It does not discriminate based on any line of social status, race, age, or anything else. Love says, "If I see a hungry person, I will feed him/her regardless of how they feel about me. If I see someone in need, I will do what I can to meet the need, no matter who they are and what they believe."

Changing gears for a second: It takes about 10,000 hours to master one skill. This has been studied (somehow) and shown that people who are truly great at their craft, skill, sport, whatever, they have spent at least 10,000 hours practicing, fine tuning, working, sweating. It takes a lot of work to be great at something.

Now focus your attention on the disciples. As best that we can tell, they followed Jesus for about three years. Let's say they spent 10 hours a day with Jesus (the other 14 were spent sleeping, or going about some other business as they did when Jesus was at the well with the Samaritan woman). Then, let's say they had 25 leave days a year (sick days, vacation, travel, etc...). 3 years X 10 hours/day X 340 days/year = 10,200 hours.

But what exactly were the disciples mastering. Well, after those 10,000+ hours the disciples spent with Jesus, these were His words:

So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples (John 13:34-35).

How did Jesus love us? He gave us all of Himself. We didn't hold anything back. Even when we aren't "nice" to Him, or we hurt Him--even when we deny Him (as Peter did), He continues to love us. My question is this: How are we doing with love? The thing with love is that it doesn't discriminate, but it actually starts with the people closest to you (who can be the hardest to love). It starts with your parents, siblings, and whoever else you see daily. Not them loving you, but you loving them.

How to Respond

1. Write out a simple prayer asking God to help you to master this thing we call love.
2. Write down one way that you will show someone that you love them this week (start with someone in your family!).