Gates-The Fish Gate

The Fish Gate is another gate which was rebuilt by Nehemiah. Fishes have been associated with Christianity for many years. The sign of the fish is still a symbol you see denoting Christian faith.

As followers of Jesus Christ we are called to be “fishers of men”.

The body of Christ has been given the great commission to go out into all the world and make disciples of Jesus. It is the mandate from Christ to His church.

If we just put all of our efforts into catching fish though and seeing converts, people being saved, but we don’t disciple them properly afterwards, then we shouldn’t be surprised if we don’t see any growth or maturity and people fall away from faith. The Christian life is one of walking daily with Jesus and serving God and each other.

Discipleship requires service, commitment, love and sacrifice. In order to walk alongside people, especially people who are hurting, we will need grace, patience, empathy and love in abundance. The Holy Spirit will help us to develop the fruit of the Spirit in us as we disciple others.

It’s such a blessing to help other believers to grow and mature in faith in Jesus. There is a cost to following Jesus and it’s important that we present the whole gospel to people. The Christian life can be one of suffering, hardship and persecution because of our faith in Jesus and preparing people for that is a key part of discipleship. The Lord is with us in all circumstances of life, the ups and downs. Our God is big enough to handle the challenges and hard questions. We do a dis-service to God if we do not study and present the whole of scripture.

So are the nets (our churches) ready for the catch or do they need some repair work to avoid people falling through the gaps. Are you personally willing to receive and disciple new converts. If you are a follower of Christ then I encourage you to share your testimony and life with others who are new to the faith and disciple them. Help them and strengthen them to grow and mature in Christ and share your experiences with them. We all have something to offer in service to Jesus. Is there someone that you can take under your wing today or give a supporting hand?

We often leave the discipling to others but as someone said it’s just an invitation to someone to “come journey with me as I journey with Jesus”.

Jesus invites us to follow Him and become more like Him. That is the discipleship journey – to become like the Master. We are all on the journey together, at different stages, but we can all help each other to keep pressing on to the finishing line.