To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32 (NIV)
In his book, Donal Grant, George MacDonald’s character Donal is charged with tutoring Lord Morven’s younger son, Davie. “’Davie,’ he said one day, ‘there is One who understands every boy, and understands each separate boy as well as if there were no other boy in the whole world.’
‘Tell me who it is!’ demanded Davie.”
“That is what I have to teach you; merely telling is not much use. Telling is what makes people think they know when they do not and makes them foolish.’ Donal proceeded to pull a book from his pocket. ‘Look at the name on the back of it; it is the name of the man who wrote that book.’ Davie spelled it out. ‘Now you know all about the book, don’t you?’
‘No, sir, I don’t know anything about it.’
And so Donal led Davie to see that to know the name of Jesus, and to know about Jesus is not to know Jesus (1).
Many people are confused about the term ‘knowing God.’ They believe they ‘know’ Him when in reality they merely know His name and what they’ve heard about Him. To fully know Christ is to become His student, His disciple, His apprentice. Genuine discipleship requires training with the ultimate goal of becoming like Jesus.
Discipleship is more than just listening and following; discipleship is about fostering a teachable mind and spirit. It’s not just studying His Word but living it. Discipleship is a call to obedience, regardless of the lesson and the cost. Only then will we know the truth about God, the truth about ourselves, and the truth about life itself.
Prayer: Lord, we thank you that you are a God who longs to be known. You desire a relationship with us. More than that, you invest in us through your Word and through your Spirit. Open our hearts and minds to seek you, to learn from you, and to put into practice all that you have taught us. In your precious name we pray, Amen.
Thought: “Cheap grace is grace without discipleship.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer
(1) George MacDonald, Donal Grant, Throne Classics, 2019, pg.56.