Leadership through Discipleship #5

John – The Power of a Relationship
A Relationship that Loves

“James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is, ‘Sons of Thunder’” (Mark 3:17).

Ever know someone who gave their friends a nickname? Some people enjoy giving others a name that describes some attribute or similarity. I knew of one college student whose middle name was Chevon. She became known in her college years as “Chevy.” Often names given in fun become lifetime handles.

Jesus gave a few monikers to some of His disciples. Simon was renamed Peter while James and John were nicknamed “Boanerges” or “Sons of Thunder.” John is often viewed as the peaceful loving disciple that wrote of love and always sought to stay close to Jesus. Apparently, he was not always such a loving individual. Much of our opinion of John is shaped by his later writing and his devotion to the Lord. What we often do not see is the man Jesus called from the fishing boat to “come, follow me.”

There was much more to learn. These men called from various vocations would change much over the three years of mentorship, shaped by shared experiences with Jesus, the Messiah. Relationships take time. John had to learn to love. He made the transition from tough to tenderness. John’s temperament changed from one who would “call down fire from heaven” (Luke 9:51-56) to an inseparable friend staying close to Jesus, even “leaning on Jesus’ bosom” (John 13:23).

Jesus does not call us just to be robotic followers. He does not mass produce disciples with mindless allegiance; rather He calls us into a dynamic relationship. He treats us all as special individuals. Each of us is a unique design. His plan for your life is “one of a kind.” He is not interested in blind followers but intelligent, passionate, and devoted disciples, developing and deciding day by day to grow in our relationship with Him.

A leader-disciple must learn to love. We often forget what we were before the Lord found us in our sin, saved us, and called us to be disciples. Or we excuse our lack of maturity and failure to change saying,

John is the disciple that repeatedly reminds us to love one another to demonstrate our discipleship! The other disciples may have heard it but only John records it in his Gospel. John had a relationship that learned to love!

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35).