You can’t be a disciple of Christ while maintaining the status quo. When we make the decision to recognize Jesus as Lord of our lives, everything changes. Or at least it should. Simply pretending to be a follower of Jesus is the same as not following at all. If we confess Him with our lips but do not demonstrate Him with our lives, then we are fooling ourselves if we think our eternity is secured. Jesus said that many will come to Him saying, “Lord, Lord”, but He will send them away because He never knew them (Matthew 7:15-23). If we want to avoid such a fate, we must live disciplined lives seeking Christ, while reflecting His love to others.
If Jesus is Lord of our lives, we will spend our time thinking about Him, doing the things He told us to do, and serving one another in love. We believe in Him through faith, and His grace alone saves us. Our faith is proven as true by the work we do for God (James 2:14-26). Our time is no longer our own, nor is our money. The ironic part is that time and money were never really ours in the first place. They were simply entrusted to us by God so that we might steward them for His glory. When we surrender to Jesus as Lord, we recognize that all we have is because of Him. All that we have is by his grace and for His plan.
This is a huge responsibility, one that cannot to be taken lightly. Every second of every minute of every hour of every day is now an opportunity to serve Jesus with our time, money, and efforts. This calls into question some of our daily habits. Are we glorifying God by watching television or surfing the web? Is the new phone or latest video game the wisest use of the money God has given us to use for His glory? Are the social events and movies we attend doing anything to advance His Kingdom? What about the seemingly innocent moments we allow to slip by each day as we mindlessly engage in nonsensical tasks? It is here that we realize that the life of a disciple is a life in need of self-discipline.
Like all things, self-discipline is mastered with practice. Don’t get too discouraged when you find yourself slipping back into old habits. Creating a new habit is even more difficult than breaking a bad one. It is far from impossible however, and ultimately depends on your level of commitment. Are you willing to do what it takes to make the changes you need to make? Is living a life totally surrendered to Christ worth the effort for you? Change is difficult, and giving up what we perceive to be control of our lives is not something we easily do.
Jesus calls us to give up everything to follow Him. He calls us to pain, not to comfort. He calls us to hardship and not to ease. Most of all He calls us to significance and love. We can have it all if we will only follow Him. Are you willing to discipline your life and become the person He created you to be? Self-discipline is painful, but in the end we will see its value. Jesus will not turn us away. He will welcome us as good and faithful servants (Matthew 25:23).
What areas of your life do you find the most difficult to practice discipline and surrender to the Lord? Please join the conversation by leaving a comment below.