Come After Me
3 Ways that Worship and Discipleship are Intertwined
Since my first jnX trip to Asia in 2000, I’ve been inspired to learn and teach others about worship. Many of us tend to see “worship” as a “religious activity” separate from our “discipleship”. But when Jesus asked us to take up our cross and “follow me” (Luke 9:23), he was using three Greek words that can be literally translated as “come after me” — three words showing three ways that worship and discipleship are intertwined:
1. “Come”: Jesus is better
When you’re sightseeing and your eye catches a stunning view, you might call over the person you’re with, saying: “Come, and enjoy this beautiful sight!” In the same way, Jesus asks us to “come” to see that He’s better than absolutely everything else. It’s a call to discipleship as well as a call to worship, because when we worship we attribute worth to God, we enjoy His goodness, and we leave behind former things or idols that are worthless in comparison.
2. “After”: Jesus’ story becomes my story
“After” implies that our future is surrendered to God. We stop being the author of our lives, and we willingly align our lives with Jesus’ gospel story. My kids like play-acting scenes from movies with compelling stories like Star Wars or Frozen. When we follow God, we’ll naturally be compelled by His grace, truth, holiness and love;and by the story of Jesus’ incarnation, atonement, and resurrection. Our worship of God is based on who He is and what He’s done, and naturally we will become Who we worship.
3. “Me”: Jesus takes me places where the world despises
The world follows successful people like Steve Jobs or Mark Zuckerburg. But when Jesus called people to follow him, he was a controversial figure who often talked about suffering and dying in Jerusalem. So do not forget that we follow and we worship one hated by the world, whose life led to the cross. But the kicker is that He also rose from the dead! Both our worship and our discipleship are insane in the world’s eyes.
As you see, in our full-time discipleship, we are also full-time worshipers. And in our worship, we are growing (in our identity) as disciples of Jesus.
TC
jnX US team member
September 15, 2015
