Are You A Learner?

The disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.

Acts 11:26

We’re prone to think of disciples as turbocharged Christians, but originally the terms disciple and Christian were synonymous. Differentiating between the two has had the effect of watering down the original demands of following Christ.

Dallas Willard puts it this way: “The word disciple occurs 269 times in the New Testament. Christian is found three times, and was first introduced to refer precisely to the disciples. The disciple of Jesus is not the deluxe or heavy-duty model of the Christian—especially padded, textured, streamlined, and empowered for the fast lane of the straight and narrow way. He stands on the pages of the New Testament as the first level of basic transportation in the Kingdom of God.”

Modern Christians don’t often think of using the term disciple to describe themselves, but Jesus never put the terms of discipleship in small print. He’s not content for us to be distant followers, and He will not rest until we learn to take His yoke upon us and learn from Him (Matthew 11:29).

The word disciple means learner, and it refers to someone who is committed to learning to live the Christ-life in conscious, daily obedience. Is that you?