Discipel Zijn - 6

Where are we going? being a disciple - 6 John 14:1-7 & Hebrews 12:1-4 These past two weeks we have been clarifying discipleship: deny yourself, pick up your cross and follow. If you want to walk the road together after Him, these are the necessary aspects of that walk. Last week we came to realize, however, that this walk is not a series of doors to walk through (and doors to avoid), but it is the walk that comes from walking through the one door. Jesus called it the narrow gate. Once you walk through, your life is characterized by a love for Jesus that supersedes all other loves. Being a disciple becomes our identity in Christ. Of course this is a process - a way of life. The question that begs answering is: “Where are we going?” Thomas asked this question point-blank when Jesus was talking about where He was going. He described in Jewish wedding-language the house of His Father. He was going to go there ahead of the disciples and prepare a room. In Jewish tradition, once the bridegroom was betrothed to a young lady, he would leave her for a period in order to go and build on an extension - a room - to his father’s house. When it was finished the bridegroom would gather his friends and they would march to the bride’s home to fetch her. At a distance a horn would be blown, signaling to the bridal party the bridegroom’s arrival and she would go out with her maidens to meet the bridegroom, who would escort her back to his father’s house, where the wedding feast (seven days) would be celebrated. Jesus says they understand this - you know the way. This prompts Thomas to disagree. We don’t know where you are going and we don’t know the way. Then Jesus directs their attention to Himself - I’m the way. Have you ever considered the trust that children exert in their parents. You just get into the car and trust that they know where they are going. Really, that is how it works with Christ. He knows where He’s going and as long as we keep our eyes fixed on Him, we’ll be headed in the right direction. Illustration of the rope (borrowed from Francis Chan): imagine this rope represents time. Your time. It began here at a point in time and now imagine with me that this rope continues on forever and ever around the corner over there. We have a beginning, but according the Scripture, our lives will be eternal. Now this little section here… this is your life spent on planet earth. And this little section tends to eat up all of our focus. And most of mankind in our society, tends to live life focused on this little red part… that’s once I hit retirement age. I save money all my life so that I can enjoy this little red part here. And yet there is so much life left after that little red part. There is so much life left that we don’t consider and yet this little section right here is where you lay aside treasures for this life that is yet to come. This life here is where we choose if we’re going to follow Christ today or not. We forget how much life is yet to come! In Hebrews 12:1-14 the author zero’s in on discipleship, but uses an entirely different analogy: a marathon race. The witnesses of chapter 11 teach us that the race can be run and that you can do it. Our eyes need to be fixed on Christ - the author and finisher (He’s run out ahead and He’s running with us again), and the final question considers our commitment… you haven’t even struggled to the point of bleeding against sin. The author’s challenge: RUN THE RACE!