Speaker: Sis. Techie Rodriguez, Elder, The Lord's Flock Catholic Charismatic Community

" The Disciple Under the Lordship of Jesus Christ"

A Disciplined Disciple

A disciplined disciple is a Christian living under the lordship of Jesus Christ. He grows in conformity with Jesus; bears fruit in evangelism; and works to conserve his fruit.

A disciplined disciple brings all his faculties under control; he has order, consistency, and purpose in his life. He faces his duties and has a sense of responsibility. He rises courageously above his problems and does not panic in any crisis. He soars like an eagle when adversity comes. (Isaiah 40:31).

Character Traits of a Disciple

Under the Lordship of Jesus Christ

A disciple under the lordship of Jesus Christ has the following character traits:

1. OBEDIENCE – A disciple is obedient. His obedience must come out of his love for the Lord. It must not be out of fear; nor out of hope of getting blessings and favors from God. “Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me. And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him.” (John 14:21).

Because we love God, everything that He says, we should follow and obey. Everything He plans for us, we should follow. We should develop the habit of being sensitive to hear his voice. “If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.” (Hebrews 3:7-8). We should faithfully obey the Lord all the time.

As we go in our life's journey, God guides us. Sometimes, He uses detours to protect us from risks and dangers. He may also use painful means to drag us back to the right path in order for us not to be lost. Let us follow God's directions.

2. DISCIPLINE – A disciple has discipline. He accepts discipline from God. In John 15:1-8 , God, the Father, is the vine grower; Jesus is the vine; and we are his branches. “He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and everyone that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit.” (John 15:2).

God is a generous giver. He gives us, his children, a fruitful life. He “prunes” us and disciplines us through testings and trials. The richest and most fruitful lives are those which have been strengthened through the painful process of testings and tribulations.

God will use us not until He has cut away whatever hinders our spiritual growth as children of God.

When God disciplines us, we should see his purpose from his standpoint and plans for us. He wants us to grow and be fruitful by correcting us whom He loves as his children. “My son, do not disdain the discipline of the Lord or lose heart when reproved by him; for whom the Lord loves, he disciplines.” (Hebrews 12:5-6).

Sometimes, we cannot readily understand God's methods of discipline – for instance when God removes from us our most beautiful possessions. These possessions may have become attachments to our lives; they may already be hindering our growth that enables us to be spiritually fruitful.

Through testings and trials, we know more about God. We experience his love. God never forsakes us; He takes care of our problems. Let us be steadfast when we undergo trials.

Disciplined disciples also accept that God is a God of order and peace. (1 Corinthians 14:33). “ Everything must be done properly and in order. (1 Corinthians 14:40). Just like the human body not functioning well when a part is sick, the mystical body of Christ is not well when its members are undisciplined, unteachable and uncorrectable. Disciplined disciples must therefore lead an orderly life controlled by the Holy Spirit.

3. POWER OF LOVE – Disciples receive God's power of love and share this power with one another – even with the “unlovable”.

Human love is love given to a person in return for love offered to him. Agape love is divine love, a generous kind of love. (Please read Growth Digest, Vol. 7, No. 24 of July 27, 2005).

Disciplined disciples should share with one another and with everybody else the awesome power of agape love.

4. TEACHABILITY – Genuine disciples are ready to submit to the lordship of Jesus Christ. They are always ready to be taught the word of God. They welcome teachings and advice from our elders. They also accept admonitions, reproofs and even constructive criticisms for their correction and benefit.

Disciples should not resent reproofs and criticisms. They must not be over sensitive when his mistakes and failings are pointed out to him. They do not react to admonitions by absenting from formation class, abandoning ministry work, or resigning from his position. They do not grumble. They welcome all opportunities to hear the word of God, to be taught, and to grow spiritually under the lordship of Jesus Christ.

5. CORRECTABILITY – Disciples must not only be teachable but correctable as well. They are willing to be corrected.

Reproofing is done in order to correct a person's mistakes and to warn him of dangers. It is done out of love for the person being corrected. It is never done with a malicious intention; never to insult a person.

There are three steps in correcting a person, according to the Lord. (Please read Matthew 18:15-17) :

1. Correction should be done privately and in a gentle manner, at the right time (good mood of the person being corrected) and at a proper place. Ask questions in a soft way. Do not accuse or lambast the person as if you are condemning him. Listen carefully to his testimony. Be understanding. Do not suppress his feelings (or crying) in order not to aggravate the problem. Let him open up!

2. Get one or two witnesses. Pray for them first. Make sure they will not spread the news about the reproofing with other persons. They should observe secrecy and confidentiality. Witnesses must simply be silent observers. They have no right to interfere during the reproofing.

3. If the person remains uncorrected after the first two steps, the matter should be elevated to the steward, or director-in-charge or the elders of the community. This is the proper move specially if the matter endangers the peace, unity, and image of the community. If we are the persons involved, we must be correctable. We must be truthful. We should ask for forgiveness and be thankful for having been corrected.

6. JOYFULNESS – Disciples should be joyful even when there are difficulties and trials in life. “Consider it all joy, my brother, when you encounter various trials, for you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” (James 1:2-3). We are often confronted with two choices: to be joyful or to fret and be lonely; to be drawn to God and be stronger or to run away from God; to have faith in God or to lose hope and be discouraged when problem arises. Disciples should know how to decide correctly.

When we do something for God's glory, we sometimes encounter a crisis of faith. We sometimes feel physically and emotionally depleted. We could be very sad. We should not feel sad, for joy is not an option for us.

Joy is our responsibility before God. To be joyful is a command from the Lord. “Rejoice in the Lo rd always! I shall say it again; rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4). “Do not be saddened this day, for rejoicing in the Lord must be your strength.” (Nehemiah 8:10).

We should be joyful even amidst sufferings. We should be joyful in all circumstances ; not only while at our Community but wherever we are. We should never allow the devil to steal our joy from us. Joy is God-given; let us safeguard it!

7. RIGHT PERSPECTIVE – Disciplined disciples should have the right perspective about life, about its difficulties, about what we see around us. As disciples, we accept that everything we see is only temporary. The difficulties and problems in our lives are also temporary. Our right perspective is to look not to what is seen which is transitory but to what is unseen which is eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:17-18). With such an outlook, we can face our momentary troubles in life. We can carry the cross that God has prepared for us. “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24). We must readily accept to carry our personal cross. God will not give us a cross too heavy for us to carry. When we carry our cross, we are actually preparing for eternal life which is unseen but eternal.