Discipleship has many stages. Like in marriage, we go from infancy to maturity only if we’re willing to become “one” with our partner.  It requires a “letting go” of our individuality so we can embrace a new identity together. Married couples who continue to live like singles never experience what the bond is intended to bring. They want the benefits of intimacy without undergoing transformation, but this is impossible. Identification in both marriage and Christian discipleship involves merging divergent paths into one integrated purpose.

When we first encounter Jesus, we’re fascinated by Him and eager to engage in His way of life. But as our old life of sin bumps up against the principles He introduces, we find ourselves alternately excited and discouraged by the challenges we encounter. Our “first love” for Him eventually enters a new stage that involves hard work and personal sacrifice.

Some new converts fall away at this stage; Satan convinces them that the price is too high. It seems easier to “return to Egypt” where they can at least enjoy the occasional cucumber, melon, or onion (Numbers 11:4). Tragically, they trade their birthright for some trifling but immediate earthly reward as Esau did (Genesis 25:30). Unlike Moses, they let comfort override their life of faith. “By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin” (Hebrews 11:24).

For those who continue to follow the Lord, their discipleship role changes as they take on new responsibilities within God’s kingdom. Depending upon their spiritual gifts, they may be involved in leading, pastoring, teaching, praying for others, prophesying, serving, encouraging, sharing of finances, administering, offering hospitality, etc. As we invest more, we grow in knowledge and experience, but the process brings both joy and sorrow, exhilaration and exhaustion. Because we’re still operating with some autonomy from our heavenly spouse, we often work at cross purposes to Him. If we’re not careful, we can get carried away with our own importance at this stage of discipleship. We must stop and regularly ask ourselves: Is my motivation and loyalty centered on Jesus and His desires? Or am I driven by a desire to “make a name” for myself? Can I serve others with humility, as Jesus did, or am I still too proud to take a lesser seat in the Kingdom?

Jesus didn’t pull any punches; discipleship involves full identification with Him. We must be willing to let go of our own way and let Him be Lord of all. While we absolutely share in His victory over sin and death through His resurrection, we also must be willing to share in the sufferings He endured through the cross. Full identification means embracing it all and trusting that God’s grace is sufficient for whatever comes our way as His disciples. As He said in Matthew 10:38, “Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me.”

Probably no one better exemplifies this final stage of discipleship, where we are fully identified with Christ, than the apostle Paul. In Galatians 2:20 he wrote, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Paul fully identified with the Lord’s purpose and approach to life. He no longer cared about his own reputation or accomplishments—he lived to please God alone. And whatever difficulties he faced in representing Jesus and making Him known, whatever opposition he suffered, he did not waver in his loyalty to Jesus. “I will very gladly spend and be spent for your souls” he declared to the church in Corinth (2 Corinthians 12:15).

In his devotional entitled “Interest or Identification?” (March 21, My Utmost for His Highest) Oswald Chambers explores the implications of Galatians 2:20. “Paul says—‘I have been crucified with Christ’; he does not say—‘I have determined to imitate Jesus Christ’, or ‘I will endeavour to follow Him’—but—I have been identified with Him in His death.’ When I come to such a moral decision and act upon it, then all that Christ wrought for me on the Cross is wrought in me. The free committal of myself to God gives the Holy Spirit the chance to impart to me the holiness of Jesus Christ.”

This is the immeasurable value of Christ’s work for us. When we’re willing to identify with Him, we receive the strength necessary to follow Him through the power of the Holy Spirit. It is no longer our life but His that we experience! We discover that His grace is sufficient when we dare to offer ourselves in whatever way He chooses to use us for the sake of others. Like Jesus, our willingness to suffer becomes the gateway of blessing, resurrection life, and transformation … both in ourselves and in other people.

The pull of self-actualization … running our own show, choosing comfort over difficulty, and trusting in ourselves rather than God … is strong in all of us. But for disciples of Jesus, we can choose a better way. By fully identifying with Him we overcome our old sinful life and live life to the full, as Jesus promised in John 10:10. Let’s not “stall out” in our life of discipleship. Let’s press on to full identification! As the apostle John pointed out, “This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith” (1 John 5:4).

Heavenly Father, please help me to press on. I won’t be content until I can fully identify with Jesus. Thank you for your promise that I CAN be His faithful spouse, becoming one with Him in spirit, mind, and purpose. I know I can’t do this by my own strength or resolve, so I trust in your Holy Spirit to convict, empower, and remind me each day about the high calling of being a disciple of the Lord Jesus. In your holy name I pray, Amen.