Is discipleship optional?

from the old testament

• The Hebrew uses the word limmud to indicate a disciple and learner, one who is taught. Here are a few verses that apply. Isaiah 8:16 says, "Bind up the testimony; seal the teaching among my disciples."
• Isaiah 50:4 says  "The Lord GOD has given me
  the tongue of those who are taught,
  that I may know how to sustain with a word
  him who is weary.
  Morning by morning he awakens;
  he awakens my ear
  to hear as those who are taught."
  
  Discipleship means learning who God is and living in a way that shows that we have taken to heart what we have learned. Disciples reflect God, whom they follow.
• Isaiah 54:13 says, "All your children shall be taught by the LORD,
  and great shall be the peace of your children." God instructs us—are we listening? Are we also passing on what we have been taught and know of God?

from the new testament

• ‏Jesus' final command (not a suggestion) was in Matthew 28:19: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” We are disciples (not optional) who are called to make disciples. Are we doing so?
• In the Gospel of Luke Jesus expresses discipleship as being a difficult commitment, yet an imperative. Luke 14:26 says, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple."
• Luke 14:27 likewise shows the gravity of the commitment it is to become a disciple of God, "Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple." All believers are disciples; therefore, we must understand that being saved means wholehearted surrender to Christ, choosing obedience to Him above comfort, ease, and self-interest.

implications for today

Jesus never asked His followers to be casual followers but instead required diligence in learning and doing His will. In order to do that, we have to study. If you purchase a new car or a new tool or appliance and neglect to read the direction manual you may be able to operate said item, but you will miss out on all of the features and perhaps even destroy it due to negligence or misunderstanding. So, too, a person who claims to follow Jesus and never bothers to learn anything about Him and grow in accordance with His will, will never complete the mission of discipleship.

Still, discipleship is not just about brain knowledge. It is about being transformed by Jesus as we follow Him, allowing it to change us from the inside out and leading to us being disciples who also make disciples.

Discipleship is a life-long mission of surrendering to God, being transformed, and helping others do the same. Discipleship is not a cruise ship; it is a battleship. Are we committed to living out our faith by recognizing that discipleship (being discipled and helping others know Him) is not optional but pivotal for our faith and relationship with God?