DJ records: God as Father

“The disciples were first called Christians at Antioch,” ten years after the birth of the church, Acts 11:26. This prompts the question: What is meant by the word “disciple”?

Just before Jesus’ ascension and His final farewell to His followers, He gave them this instruction: “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” Matthew 28:19-20.

If we are to “make disciples”, we must first know what a disciple is. From reading the Gospels, the obvious meaning of the word “disciple”, is a Jesus follower; someone who has Jesus as Mentor in all of life. Thus, this informs us what it really means to be a Christian.

It can be said that, just as He was an apprentice to His step-father Joseph, while learning His trade of carpenter; so He also was apprenticed to His Father in Heaven, in His mission of becoming our Saviour and the supreme portrayal of our Father, in a broken world.

We live in a world where many are growing up in fatherless homes, and as a result suffer from an “orphan spirit”.

But when we happily realise that God is passionate about becoming our Father, the identity issues that can result from the absentee, or invisible father, can be healed by heeding our Father’s invitation to an intimate friendship with Him. Jesus’ ministry was largely motivated by His, and His Father’s desire to show us the love and character of our Heavenly Father.

This was significantly demonstrated when Jesus taught the early disciples to pray: “Our Father in Heaven …” The first step in becoming a disciple of Jesus, is to receive the gift of an intimate, conversational relationship with God as your Father. This relationship has power to heal the “father wounds” caused by an absentee, “non-existent” or abusive father.

So for you and me to be suitably positioned and capable to guide others into becoming disciples of Jesus, we must first be apprenticed to Jesus ourselves.

This involves experiencing the joy of a day by day, faith-filled relationship with God as our Father. We will then be empowered to inspire others to happily become disciples of Jesus, and so enter into a life transforming friendship with God our Father, for the rest of their lives.