“Many students will have genuine belief in their teacher, but a few will move on to a greater commitment to follow – and those few possess the key to change the world.” – Anonymous
There are two facets to the key that unlocks the full mystery of the life you were made for, and the life I am learning to live.
Beginning in 2015, I (author) was blessed with hours every day for an extended period of time to become a student again, responding as a believer to the call of greater commitment as a follower of Jesus. It was time for me to let go of religion and empty philosophical thinking. I’ve come to understand that there are actually two facets to my life with Him – together they’re the key to the mystery.
Believing for salvation – a free gift
The first facet is believing in the Gospel for salvation, meaning responding to, placing trust in, and receiving Jesus Christ as savior, for the free gift of eternal life. If you are a believer, you have full assurance of your eternal salvation. In his book The Gift of God, Richard Seymour clears up any confusion about the gracious gift of eternal life.
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Following into discipleship – a free choice
The second facet is choosing to trust Jesus in a discipleship sense, to begin living that eternal life here and now as His student, His follower. This is when Jesus becomes more than your Savior. He becomes your teacher. Author Lucas Kitchen has written many titles related to these facets of the Christian walk. This one, entitled Salvation and Discipleship – Is there a difference? will help you understand the distinction between these two incredible facets.
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As my faith has been growing on this personal journey of discovery, with hours of study and reading, reflection, worship, prayer and quiet time with my newly discovered teacher, my life has been gradually changing for the better. I’m learning how to live out my true identity in Him. I’m discovering new purpose, value and vision for the future. I’m growing from the infancy stages of belief (for salvation), to increasing maturity as a follower of the Master Teacher, Jesus (discipleship).
Over time, this personal pursuit has blossomed into a loose affiliation of Christ followers, fellow students, who are dear friends. We share life together with our teacher as much as our busy lives permit, with different backgrounds, life experiences and stories to tell. The bottom line is that we share a common passion for following Jesus and sharing this amazing “goodbye-to-hello” life with others!
This may be the day
We’re excited that this may be the day you take a first step toward giving up on religion, philosophy or any other futile endeavor. This may be the day you turn that key and respond to the call to believe in Jesus and choose to follow Him. You’ll discover that He is your new favorite teacher – or maybe even your first! He is the one you can really trust, the one who sees more in you than you ever knew, the one who will transform your life.
If you’re just now coming onboard and you haven’t looked at any of the content yet, I’d recommend that you just start here and go through the articles in sequential order, following the links at the end of each page. And please feel free to contact us at any time with questions and comments.
May the goodbye-to-hello life be yours!
JCH
For reflection or discussion:
- In the anonymous quote at the top of the page, why do you think the writer says a student that makes a greater commitment to follow “will change the world?”
- In this article, what is “the key?”
- Is it true that salvation relates to belief in Jesus, and discipleship relates to following Him? What are some of the differences between these two “facets” of this relationship with Jesus?
- In the “personal journey of discovery” that the writer shares above, can you identify some of the things he did that caused his life to gradually change for the better? What were some of the benefits?
All scriptural references are taken from a variety of Bible translations and paraphrases including The Message Bible (MSG), The New Living Translation (NLT), English Standard Version (ESV), The Voice (Voice), The Passion Translation (TPT), New American Standard Bible (NASB), The Living Bible (TLB), New International Version (NIV). Quotations used from other sources are acknowledged in text. Photos used are taken from a variety of artists mentioned by name.
Header photo by Arthur Poulin
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