There were many people who liked to think that they were disciples, followers or supporters of Jesus.  Which ones were real disciples?  Surely it must be those who believed in Him.  Yes, but how deep did that faith go?  It was easy to be caught up with the enthusiasm of the crowd and to enjoy the teaching, realising that it made sense. But when they realised that following Jesus was life-altering, many went away (John 6:60-66).

Jesus said that the test of being a disciple (the word means 'learner' or 'pupil') is keeping on doing what the Master has said.  Obedience is the test of faith (Acts 6:7).  It is one thing to agree with others in a crowd that the words of Jesus were good and wise: it is quite another thing to change a lifetime's habit or adopt a radically different lifestyle.  Jesus did not despise their embryo belief, nor did He demand that they follow a set of rules: Jesus simply asked them to put His teaching into practice (Matthew 7:24).

As with every secure friendship, trusting another person develops an understanding of their character.  That closeness of understanding is a liberating experience.  It is particularly true when we trust Jesus: learning to obey Him deepens our relationship with Him because we find He honours His promises and blesses those He loves (Malachi 4:2).  Wonderfully, we are not alone, for the Father and Son make their home with us (John 14:23) and the Holy Spirit gives us the strength to obey (Ephesians 3:16).

It is not enough to hear the words of Jesus and believe that they are true.  We can only know their meaning when we put His teaching into practice.  That means asking the Lord to help us to make different decisions and behave in a different way because we believe His teaching is true.  As we do, it is right to expect that we will be released from the addiction to sin, and be free to love and serve our Lord.  These verses should be a regular challenge every time we read the Scriptures: ‘… is this the way I think and act ... if not, what must I do to show Jesus that I understand and want to please Him? And then, am I willing to move from a single act of obedience to a lifetime of transformed living?’  The Holy Spirit is here to help us, but we must be willing to cooperate with Him.