John 15:3-4 NLT 
 
'You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.' 
  
Christian discipleship remains something of a mystery. Since I chose to surrender my life to Jesus, I have, in Jesus’ words, been ‘purified by the message’. In one sense, I have crossed the threshold of acceptance and belonging. So what is discipleship?  
 
I spent many years creating and delivering discipleship courses. I’m not sure how useful they were. They were laden with well-constructed information in an attempt to apply biblical truth to explain the character of Christian behaviour. The intention was always sincere, but I realised I often failed to embrace much of the application I was advocating.  
 
We live in an age in which performance is measured against external criteria. But discipleship is not a pass/fail course. It is a relationship. And relationships do not do well when framed within a performance-related framework. As a disciple, I am invited to get to know God better. Out of the love that grows between us, I may want to address behaviour. Yet, when I misbehave, as I most surely will, the relationship is never in doubt. The only basis upon which the relationship, or any relationship, fails is if I choose to break it. I have God’s word that God will never break it. It is not through some self-improvement process that I can make myself useful within the kingdom of God. It is by resting in God and enjoying my friendship that I grow in an ever-greater consciousness of the presence and reality of God. Such awareness is non-quantifiable. Discipleship is about our state of being and has nothing to do with the accumulation of our works, however noble. 
 
Is your discipleship grown out of your loving relationship with God, or the activities you do in your attempts to please God? You are loved immeasurably and simply invited to return that love through building an ever-deepening friendship with God. 
 
QUESTION: Is your discipleship grown out of your relationship with God, or what you do to please him? 
 
PRAYER: May I rest in you and your love – and grow.  
 

Released on 21 Jul 2020