2 Corinthians 5:15
Over the past year or two I have been really struggling with what it truly means to be a disciple of Jesus. Conceptually, I can understand the meaning of the words when Paul says that we are to stop living for ourselves and start living for Jesus. But what that means as a practical matter ... that is a different discussion entirely.
From what I can tell of Paul's life, to him living entirely for Jesus meant exactly that. Paul was singularly focused on evangelizing and building the church. Pursuing God's will seems to have been literally all consuming for the man.
I am not sure that it is fair to compare my own level of devotion to that of the Apostle Paul -- although I am similarly not so sure that the Bible allows me the luxury of not. During much of his ministry Paul of necessity had a "real" job. See, for example, 1 Corinthians 9. So, one can have a singular focus on Christ without being in the full time ministry as a vocation.
Ultimately, examining Paul's life in this context is nothing but painful confirmation of how short I fall in terms of my own devotion to Jesus and to the gospel. The one thing I think I can say with certainty is that when God says he wants to be first in our lives he is not fooling around. Our task is simply to take the command seriously and strain toward the goal.
Another disciple said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.” Matthew 8:21-22
Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
Luke 14:25-27
Ultimately, one key way to think of discipleship is the move of heart from the fallen "selfish" man to the righteous "selfless" man. Selflessness is a hallmark of true Christian love for God and for others. Yes, the new birth is about a new life, but at the end of the day it is about self-denial -- it is about giving up our goals, aspirations and desires and replacing them with God's will for our lives.
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.
Matthew 16:24-27
Indeed, Jesus tells us in no uncertain terms that discipleship is costly. He tells us that if we do not give up "everything" we cannot be his disciple.
I don't know about you, but I simply cannot comprehend what this means. I do think that we sometimes twist the scripture slightly to imply that the standard Jesus sets out is really a "willingness" to give up everything for him -- but that is not what the scripture actually says. So, the practical question becomes "what does giving up everything actually look like for me?"
I think that there is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question -- it is unique to each person and ultimately it is a question to be worked out between that person and God. In other words, we must "work out our own salvation with fear and trembling." See Philippians 2:12. For my part, all I really know is that whatever it means to "give up everything" I personally have not yet done it. It is a daily struggle.
“Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples."
Luke 14:31-33
Of course, the "new life" in Jesus is not simply about giving things up. It is about total devotion to something else -- first to God and then to others. The transformation provoked by true faith necessarily results in both the desire and ability to "bear fruit" -- including particularly an unnatural capacity to love others.
I have written about "love" many times, so will not repeat myself here. I will just say that loving others is without a doubt the greatest and most clear expression of our love for Him. In turn, I am convinced that a supernatural capacity to love others and to forgive is the greatest gift of the Holy Spirit. See Romans 5:5.
This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
John 15:8
By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.
John 13:35
Finally, discipleship means making disciples of others. Part of the "fruit" that God is looking for is a love that is so powerful that we are able to overcome our own insecurities and limitations, as well as the pressures of this world (think "political correctness") and be willing to share our faith with others. But not only that -- to take the time with those who then profess a faith in Jesus to walk with them on their journey into discipleship.
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
Matthew 28:19-20
I know that these are just a few random thoughts about being a disciple. But, its what's on my heart and mind today.
Thanks for listening. I feel better already!
3 comments:
I believe "self" is highly misunderstood in scripture. People don't realize that Abraham was Eastern Philosophy. The Jews only became Western philosophy after they were captured by Western nations. And that's where we came from. So, if one views the Bible through the eyes of Eastern Philosophy, it makes much more sense.
"Self," for instance, would mean the ego, in Eastern Philosophy. So denying "self" would mean to denie the ego, which makes a lot of sense, because Jesus says to love your neighbor as yourself. One cannot love self and denie self at the same time. There's a clear misunderstanding. But Eastern Philosophy clarifies it.
I believe that each person should be working on loving their self properly, because the result is that they will love others properly. Not love their ego and give in to its desires. Love their true self. And we're given our desires in order to help us understand and develop who we are. The trick is discerning what desires are dysfunctional and coming from the ego, and which are genuine and functional.
There is a major trend in the Bible of nomads. Abraham met God and immediately became a nomad. Moses became a nomad in Midian for 40 years so God could purify him. Then he brought the Isrealites out of Egypt and they became nomads for 40 years to purify them. Most of the prophets were nomads. Jesus became a nomad. All of the 12 disciples became nomads. Paul was a nomad. So, should we all follow this example?
The Bible says if you get saved, don't quit your job and do something else. It says to serve God where you are. That'd go against the nomadic trend. My point is that each person must feel this out for him or herself. But denying one's self is not the way to do it. Denying ego, maybe, but not your self. That's a gross misunderstanding of scripture. We are to love ourselves and find who God has shaped us to be by defining and refining our talents and functional healthy desires.
Indians call it finding your bliss when you find and work with your talents. It brings great joy. That is one major way we love our selves and others, because our talents are our work, and our work helps others. One does not need to be a pastor or missionary to serve God. One only needs to know who they are and carry that out. We are thousands of years removed from the ways and sayings of those who wrote scripture. It's misinterpreted quite a bit as a result. We must be careful with what we believe and how we carry that out.
Thanks, Cephyr13, for your post. Some interesting thoughts. I do not think that, in context, "self-denial" means self-loathing, or a vow of poverty or any number of other things we might think about self-denial. Nor do I think it is inconsistent with loving self. I think Jesus is talking about putting our own desires and agenda on the back burner, or sometimes off the burner entirely, and replacing those things with God's will for our lives. And, when we put God first, then we can find joy and satisfaction in life.
Amen Pastor.....Amen!!!
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