Teach, observe, command

We have been given the mandate to make disciples and the church throughout the ages have been trying to fulfil this commission of Jesus with varying degrees of success. On studying the mandate closely, we realize that the mandate is to make disciples of Jesus and so our focus should be to draw people after Him. Three words stand out in this commission of Jesus - teach, observe, command. We are called to teach and not to command. There is a role for us to show people what is the way of the Lord, so that one can find himself walking in obedience. Others are called to observe, meaning that there is something more than just following a set of instructions. To observe and to keep means that there is a longer process involved than just one act of obedience. The goal is the same for both the discipler and the disciple. It is the clear commands of Jesus. The point is that I cannot teach someone to observe something that I have not observed myself. The learning process has to be worked out in my life first. Unless I am learning something, I cannot teach. May our learning be lifelong so that we can continue to disciple others in the will of God. 

What if Jesus had slept...!?

In the garden of Gethsemane, why did Jesus pray like that? Why did He want to decline from the journey ahead? Surely it was not a prayer that came out of weakness. The rebuke to His disciples gives us the clue. It was a sign of His humanity. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.  We have to conclude that more than not wanting to do the will of God, it is also possible to want to do it and still not be able to do it. Here is a perfect human without a sin nature and he had to pray earnestly so that He would not falter or give up. What happened to the disciples because they did not pray? Why was Jesus sweating drops of blood? Because the tension was unbearable. The temptation was severe. Most of us do not face severe temptations. We give up very easily. But He did not. He was not praying for us there. He was fighting for Himself so that He would be able to fulfill the will of God. To put it in other words, He prayed so that He would not try to save Himself because that was His biggest temptation. What if Jesus had slept along with His disciples? God forbid such a thought!