Explain
and explore the impact of the following statement upon the process of making
disciples: “Disciples are created in the image of God, yet fallen and choosing
to learn.”
How
many times have we heard that man was made in the image of God? I guess it
depends on who you are and how long you have been attending church. We get this
idea straight out of the beginning of the Bible in Genesis 1:26-27. Which is an amazing thought; we were made to
be like God, but two chapters later things take a turn for the worst when our original
parents do not keep the command God gave and they ate of the fruit. This is
what is known as the original sin, with this sin the curse of death became
imparted upon all men (Romans 5:12-21).
Paul also informs us that all have fallen short of the glory of God in
Romans 3:23, so no one can say that they still look as God intended it.
Even
though men have become fallen creatures we have the ability to want and choose
life. In the Gospel of John chapter 3 Jesus is speaking to Nicodemus who is
curious about the things he has been doing and wants to know more. Let’s
continue this journey of understanding the impact of choosing to learn and
discipleship, Jesus called all of the twelve to follow him, correct? That means
they had to make a conscience decision to leave whatever life they had been
leading to follow this man and become his disciple. With their obedience came
an education like none other. They got to live life in close proximity to
Jesus. They spent several years of their life with him watching him heal the
sick, raise the dead and cast out demons. While they may never had asked Jesus
for explicit instructions at every turn, the one thing we do know they asked
for, was to have Jesus teach them how
to pray in Luke 11.
We
have a God shaped hole in us because of sin, but when we accept Jesus Christ as
our Lord and savior we surrender our wants and desires over to him and begin
learning how to live life the way He wants us to. Even those who do not know Jesus
long for knowledge and when presented by the guidance of the Spirit Paul
teaches them about Jesus and the Resurrection (Acts 17). So as long as we have
people on this planet, we will have people who hunger to learn.
