Saying that Jesus should be our prime example is easy, but living it out is hard. I am challenged by this fact because the more I know Christ, the more I see myself as far from who He is. However, this reality drives me to be humbled before our Holy God, and it causes me to indeed live by His grace through faith to experience spiritual maturity.
Now, I can say that I am challenged Theologically, Culturally, and Socially. Theologically, I affirm that Jesus is the perfect representation from which we mortals can derive our understanding of the very essence of God. But always having a mindset like this in a postmodern world is a challenge for me. This is the reason why I need to persevere in studying His Word. Culturally, it challenges me not to put traditions as the primary basis of doing my ministry but to always place God’s Word above any tradition and practice. Socially, I am challenged on how to share what I know about Jesus with others in such a manner that will be relevant to them, considering individual differences and differing worldviews. I remember a group activity where we were tasked with arranging 40 pictures of Jesus’ life and ministry in chronological order. The activity helped me realize that I am still not well-versed in the life of Christ after my years in the Christian faith. This realization bothers me because I know that my knowledge of Christ affects my growth and the growth of my ministry.
We really need to study the person of Jesus Christ in His very essence. Knowing Jesus will give us a proper perspective on doing ministry since the Great Commission revolves around the life of Christ here on earth. Jesus’ strategy was life in tandem with His disciples as He invested time in teaching and providing them with ministry foundations and training, exposing them to outreach, and empowering them to create movements in Christ. Therefore, I must do ministry with Christ as the center. Christ-likeness should be seen in our plans, programs, and activities. More importantly, it should be founded in light of God’s Word. As I continue to study Jesus’ life, I can draw out principles for the Great Commission that will be applicable and relevant to the needs of my generation.
However, one question I need to answer is: How can I practically use what I’m learning about Christ’s life and ministry? And how can I contextualize it to address the needs of disciple-making and spiritual movements in the province of Eastern Samar?
I believe that Jesus aimed for the multiplication of His disciples. In fact, the life of Jesus is a process of building a movement. However, it is important to note that multiplication was not achieved instantaneously by Jesus, even though He was God Himself. He invested His life in twelve individuals and called them His disciples. I believe He is teaching us a very important lesson: that we as Christians are people in process, and we follow God’s way through His terms and not according to our own timing because of His Lordship. To miss this concept means doing ministry hastily on our own without carefully assessing its results, and this is very detrimental.
I hope I will not just be learning more about Jesus and miss who He really is. I hope I will not be lost in the details of Christianity. I strongly hope that I will be able to connect the dots altogether in light of the big picture of God’s plan of salvation in fulfilling the Great Commission. I hope that I will not only have head knowledge but a faithful application of this knowledge as I serve the body of Christ.
The life of Jesus gives me confidence, knowing that God understands what I feel as a disciple-maker because He was a disciple-maker Himself. Jesus prepared Himself in doing the work of the ministry. As a disciple of Christ, I should consider every day a learning opportunity to affect movement building. I should not be overwhelmed by the greatness of the task, but by faith, I must trust the great God who enables me to do the task of the Great Commission by faithfully doing His will and following His ways one step at a time, discipling one soul at a time.
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