Wholehearted
If there is only one God then it makes sense that this one God demands total devotion to Him. To confess Him as Lord, the only one worthy of worship, the response needs to be obedience to Him. I am not too sure I know too many that like the word “obey.” But there are a few I know that like others to obey them. What I do love about God is that He Himself looks at obedience to Him as love. In fact, to obey God is to love Him. In fact, I was created so that I could love Him above all else. What makes this even more attractive to me is that my love for God is actually a response from me to Him because of His love for me. So as a disciple of Jesus, I want to love God fervently. This is what love looks like.
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. – Deuteronomy 6:5 ESV
When it came to disciple-making our children, this was the one action on my part that became the foundation of what it meant to be a disciple of Jesus. I know we feel lost at times – where to begin, what to say, do I really know myself – feelings of inadequacy.
The passion to follow Jesus can be a great role model. Others with such passion accomplished so much. Martin Luther, John Calvin, Ulrich Zwingli were advocates for the teaching ministry within the family. Luther wrote two catechisms – one focusing on assisting the clergy to teach parents and a smaller one for children and their training. Calvin also wrote two catechisms aimed at children. The idea continued through those like Robert Raikes who pioneered what we know today as Sunday School and Alexander Campbell who emphasized the family with parents as disciple-makers within the home.
And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. – Deuteronomy 6:6 ESV
What a great role model for how I can proceed in my own discipleship process. In this manner I can relate daily events and actions to God’s sovereignty and connect them to my responsibilities. So either as a parent, mentor or disciple-maker, I can turn conversations towards learning opportunities.
Basically I can see Paul changing his language skills and presentation style to suit his audience too. He never spoke to children, but he did on occasion proclaimed the gospel to the polite and educated elite. He used literary koine to encase his speech. As a result, he saw impact right away. As an ambassador of the good news he focused on the message, modified his style and persuaded his audience so that they could understand and he could be respected. As a disciple of Jesus, I am empowered by the Spirit to be an effective witness for Jesus.
Disciple 