Don’t Be a Christian—Be a Disciple

Who is Jesus to you?

For many, being a Christian is a label—something inherited, a cultural identity, or a belief system they align with. But Jesus never came to create Christians; he came to call people to follow him.

There is a difference between calling yourself a Christian and orienting your entire life around Jesus. The two are not the same thing.

Isaiah 51:1 offers a powerful reminder:

“Listen to me, all who hope for deliverance— all who seek the Lord! Consider the rock from which you were cut, the quarry from which you were mined.”

Jesus is the rock—the foundation on which we are meant to build our lives. However, if we are honest, many who profess faith in Jesus have constructed their lives on something different. They may believe in him, yet they have not genuinely surrendered to the call of following him.

God always intended Jesus to be the foundation—the cornerstone—of our lives. Isaiah 28:16-17 makes this clear:

“Look! I am placing a foundation stone in Jerusalem, a firm and tested stone. It is a precious cornerstone that is safe to build on. Whoever believes need never be shaken. I will test you with the measuring line of justice and the plumb line of righteousness.”

Jesus is the measuring line of our lives. Yet for many, Jesus is more like a mascot—someone they acknowledge but do not follow. He is kept at a comfortable distance, there for reassurance but not given authority. Many people want a version of Jesus who offers blessings, forgiveness, and assurance but does not demand full surrender. But Jesus didn’t come to be a symbol of faith—he came to redefine reality. He came to bring light in the darkness. Isaiah 42:6-7 speaks of this mission:

“I, the Lord, have called you to demonstrate my righteousness. I will take you by the hand and guard you, and I will give you to my people, Israel, as a symbol of my covenant with them. And you will be a light to guide the nations. You will open the eyes of the blind. You will free the captives from prison, releasing those who sit in dark dungeons.”

There is a difference between someone who calls themselves a Christian and someone who actually lives in the light of Jesus.

Dallas Willard puts it plainly:

“The greatest issue facing the world today, with all its heartbreaking needs, is whether those who . . . are identified as ‘Christians’ will become disciples—students, apprentices, practitioners—of Jesus Christ, steadily learning from him how to live the life of the Kingdom of the Heavens into every corner of human existence.”

Jesus never told his followers to make Christians—he commanded them to make disciples.

“I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)

Following Jesus is not about taking on a religious identity—it is about reorienting your entire life around him.

John Mark Comer makes an important distinction in his book Practicing the Way:

“If you choose to enroll as his student (and I very much hope you do), that means when you wake up tomorrow morning, your entire life is architected to this threefold aim: to be with Jesus, to become like Jesus, and to do as Jesus did. This is the animating passion of your existence. The rest is just details.”

This is what it means to follow Jesus.

Jesus was never vague about what it means to follow him. He made it clear that you can’t follow him halfway.

“If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.” (Matthew 16:24-25)

You cannot follow Jesus and hold onto your own way of life. Many people treat Jesus like a safety net—something to catch them when life falls apart. But Jesus is not just the one who saves us after we die—he is the one who teaches us how to live now.

When Jesus’ teachings became too difficult, many walked away. He turned to his disciples and asked if they would leave, too. Simon Peter replied:

“Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life.” (John 6:68)

That is the heart of discipleship—recognizing that there is no other way to life except through Jesus.

Dallas Willard puts it simply:

“There is no problem in human life that apprenticeship to Jesus cannot solve.”

“Jesus came to respond to the universal human need to know how to live well. He came to show us how, through reliance on him, we can best live in the universe as it really is. That is why he said, ‘I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly’ (John 10:10). His supremacy lies in the greatness of the life he gives to us.”

Every day, we make choices about what we build our lives on. Paul reminds us:

“For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ. Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials—gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value.” (1 Corinthians 3:11-13)

The regrets we will carry in eternity will not be about the times we surrendered to Jesus, but about the times we took our eyes off him and lived as if we were ones who were the centre of the universe.

Following Jesus is not a belief system—it is a way of life. It is not something to be half-hearted about, nor can it be compartmentalized. It is an all-consuming, life-defining commitment to knowing Jesus, becoming like him, and doing as he did.

So the question remains:

Who is Jesus to you?

Will you follow him with everything?