Uncommon Discipleship

by Dr. Gerald K. Webber, CBM

Now and then I read something that produces immediate conviction. Following is one of those writings. I have no author to whom to attribute this piece. I'm told that it was penned by a young, now-nameless South African pastor––just before he suffered martyrdom. I'm inclined to think that he understood true discipleship in a way that few of us do.

"I'm a part of the fellowship of the unashamed. I have Holy Spirit Power. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I'm a disciple of His. I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure. I'm finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed vision, mundane talking, cheap living and dwarfed goals. I no longer need pre-eminence, prosperity, position, promotions or popularity. I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded or rewarded. I now live by faith, lean on His presence, walk by patience, lift by prayer and labor by His power. My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions are few, my Guide reliable, my mission clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of the adversary, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity. I won't give up, shut up, let up, until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up, preached up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus, I must go till he comes, give till I drop, preach till all know, and work till He stops me."

I want to be a true disciple of Christ. I believe you do, too. But do we want it enough to express it in these terms? Do we want it enough to embrace it when the outcome is not length of life, but the end of it; not gain, but loss; not health, but sickness; not enrichment, but poverty; not recognition, but obscurity; not rescue from trouble, but a double dose of it; not "success," but apparent "failure"?

Someday in Heaven I'd like to meet this faceless African brother––if I can get close enough!