THE CALL TO BE DISCIPLES OF JESUS

The word disciple means learner and follower. That is what we are—learners and followers of Jesus Christ. A disciple listens to His teaching and follows His example. He has ears attuned to the voice of Christ and feet that walk in His steps. Every decision, every step, is taken under the direction of the Lord.

To be a disciple is to be an apprentice, a student sitting before the Master, learning not only with the mind but with the heart. The disciple’s greatest desire is to bring pleasure to the One who called him. The Master does not call us to a classroom but to a cross. His lessons are not written on paper but on the tablet of the heart. His teaching is living truth, breathed through the Spirit and sealed with divine love.

To follow Him in discipleship is to feed on Him daily, for He is the Bread of Life. Just as food sustains the body, so Christ sustains the soul. The Israelites gathered manna one day at a time (Exodus 16:4–8), and that is what we must do with Jesus—gather from His presence daily. When we live in constant communion with Him, we will never suffer from spiritual hunger (John 6:35).

He who walks with Christ walks in the sunlight of heaven while still treading the dust of earth. The soul that feeds upon Him will not faint when storms rise or shadows fall. He is our nourishment, our strength, our rest. Every moment of life demands air to breathe and light to see. Every moment of the spirit demands the presence and power of Christ. To live without Him is starvation of the soul.

The disciple’s life is a pilgrimage. Not a race toward riches or recognition, but a journey toward likeness with the Savior. It is learning to walk in rhythm with His steps, to listen for His whisper in the wind, and to bow in quiet surrender when His will leads us through dark valleys. The world calls it loss. Heaven calls it gain.

Bryan Dewayne Dunaway