Jesus taught his followers the key to living a faithful life. He said, “abide in my word” and you will be my disciples. To abide in the word means “to accept or act in accordance with” all that Jesus taught. We are truly a disciple of Christ when we live in line with our Lord’s teaching. 

The word disciple describes a person who was a student of a specific rabbi or teacher. We have many teachers in our lives who influence our choices and decisions. We show ourselves to be a disciple of Christ when his teaching governs our thoughts, opinions, words, and choices.

We become a child of God when we accept the gift of our salvation by making Jesus our Savior. We become a disciple when we accept the teaching of Jesus and choose him as our Lord. When we abide with Christ’s teaching, we serve him as our King. 

We know and love Scripture when we adapt our lives to its truth. For centuries God’s word has been proven truth. Jesus taught us how to live a life God would be able to bless now and eternally. Jesus taught us how to live in such a way that other people could see the reality of God and want him to be their Father as well. 

We are surrounded by words of influence in our culture today. Jesus told his disciples to abide in his influence, his word. 

The Lord gives wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. His word is the source of our influence when we choose to live as a disciple of Jesus Christ.