The Reward of Discipleship

 The Reward of Discipleship

When people hear the word discipleship, they quickly equate it to being a servant, and that’s because they are asking themselves if there is something in store for someone who puts so much effort into discipleship. Or is it just for the sake of it?

Discipleship is much more than we think; to some, it means just closely following leaders of God and emulating their lifestyle. To others, it is deeper than that, and I will agree with this set of people.

Discipleship should not be toyed with. Firstly, let’s explain what it means: According to the dictionary, discipleship is the condition or situation of being a disciple, a follower, or a student of some philosophy, especially a follower of Christ:

Just as you have your mentor and mentee in career development, everyone knows the impact of having a mentor in one’s career journey, so it is similar to that of discipleship.

Discipleship is very important as it shows that we are followers of Christ, just like the apostles, but when you look at the scriptures, you will notice that some prophets had either a certain person or people following or working closely with them.

For Elijah, he had Elisha, and for Elisha, it was Gehazi. When you follow someone closely, it is expected that you will be the first to inherit most of the things that can be passed down from that person.

There is that and lots more to enjoy from being a disciple. Let’s look at some of the rewards of discipleship and see for yourself.

1. A disciple is covered under the wings of his master

We can see this in the lives of Jesus' disciples; they had the covering of Jesus, and they enjoyed every bit of it. In the case of the storm when they were in the boat, it was the covering they had that made them enjoy the grace of the calmness of the storm. If they hadn’t been with Jesus at that time, we don’t know what would have happened to them.

Let’s take a look at another way they enjoyed the covering of Jesus. In Mark 2:18 the people asked Jesus why his disciples were not fasting, and look at the answer Jesus gave them. And people came and said to him, “Why do John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. Looking at this response, you can see that when you are a disciple, the person you are following is basically your guardian and they act in that capacity

2. A disciple receives special treatment and enjoys privileges.

Say, for example, that your mentor is hosting a webinar and you are one of the people helping to organize it. You will definitely get a free pass to the webinar, and I am pretty sure if it is going to cost you a dime, you will get it at a discounted rate. 

The same thing is true for believers; just look at the disciples. Peter walked on water based on what? Based on the fact that Jesus was his boss and he told him to come, these and many more are what a disciple enjoys.

3. Growth

Another thing one can gain from following a leader is growth. There is nobody who would be happy if they had disciples that couldn’t take over from them. A leader will make sure he passes on every bit of his knowledge to you so that when he is gone, his legacy continues. When Elijah was to be taken, he gave Elisha an instruction, and guess what? He received a double portion of the anointing of Elijah. Elisha was so full of God’s power that his corpse raised the dead; that is how much power he inherited from Elijah. Apart from Elijah, take a look at some of the disciples—some were fishermen—and look at the work they did when Christ ascended. All these happened by virtue of followership.

4. Learn from their mistakes

When you are walking closely behind someone, if the person falls into a ditch, I can guarantee that you won’t fall into that same ditch. It is the same as when you are following a leader; you won’t make the same mistakes they have made; instead, you will take it as a learning curve.

Having looked at all these rewards that can be enjoyed when you are a disciple, I am sure the next thing would be, But this doesn’t happen for everyone. Take a look at Gehazi. 

Yes, I get that, and that is why I will be giving a few pointers on how to go about discipleship as a disciple.

Firstly, you have to follow a leader that aligns with your goals; you can’t be aiming to be the greatest gospel singer in the world and be following a minister that specializes in Drama. Don’t get me wrong, you can learn a few things from them also, but who would be a better fit for a singer; a drama minister or a songwriter? The answer is clear.

Secondly, patience is key. Patience is a virtue; you must pay the price of being a disciple to reap its fruit. The disciples went about with Jesus; Elisha followed Elijah; they all paid the price; if Elisha wasn’t always close to Elijah, he would have missed his double portion. Everyone of the people mentioned left something to follow their leaders; now I am asking you, what have you given up for discipleship? I am not saying you must sacrifice something necessarily, but when you have to, you must be willing to pay the price.

Thirdly, learn and don’t covet what your leaders have. Your leaders are not your rivals; you don’t have to strive to beat them. Do not cause an unhealthy rivalry between you and your leader. Serve and learn what you have to, and when the time is right, you can set off on your own. 

Fourthly, be disciplined. To be a better version of yourself, you have to be determined; you can’t just go about doing things that are not in line with the values of your leader. A good example is Gehazi. He did what was wrong; he had the opportunity to inherit Elisha’s power like Elisha did, but greediness caused him to miss out. 

Lastly, to conclude this, Discipleship matters a lot, and there are various benefits one can enjoy from it. If you want to know more, study the lives of the disciples.