Microwave Discipleship

Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you shall find rest unto your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.  (Matthew 11:29-30)

I have been reading the first chapters of Dallas Willard's The Spirit of the Disciplines, and I want to briefly share the heart of the first chapter with you. 

God's salvation is about more than mere forgiveness, though the forgiveness we receive is inestimably glorious.  We are not saved to exist in some neutral state; rather, we are saved and given new identities in Christ and led to walk in newness of life - abundant life!  We do not merely have God as judge declaring "not guilty"; we have him as loving Father welcoming us into a warm embrace. 

We have the four gospels and the record of Jesus' life and ministry for a reason.  There is great value in more than just the book of Romans, which I take to be, at least and much more, a profound explanation of the meaning of Christ's death and resurrection, an explanation that when received is very properly called Good News.  Though we are saved by grace through faith alone, not by works, does not mean that works have no place in the Christian life.  Read James to learn this.  Though they are not the foundation of our being saved or staying saved, they are intimately connected to the essence of the life that has been imparted to us.  What we do matters.  Let me repeat - what we do matters!

And Jesus calls us into a serious discipleship to himself.  Our business while we are still here is to know Christ and to make him known.  We know Christ not by merely professing faith and doing Christian-ish things; we know him by having a faith that takes seriously Christ's call to follow.

The main analogy from the first chapter of the book deals with training.  A child who plays a sport will want to imitate his favorite pro athlete's stance and mannerisms that he displays in the game.  But will the child experience the same success as his favorite athlete?  The answer is almost certainly no.  Why?  Because the pro-athlete has given himself over to a comprehensive mental, physical, emotional pattern of life that makes possible his on-the-spot success in the game.  Do we do the same with Jesus?  We are given commands that seem impossible - loving our enemies, turning the other cheek, sharing the Gospel with the nations, etc...  And we look to Jesus as our example and favorite "athlete", and we hope to be able to imitate him when we find those opportunities.  But should expect a Christ-like response from ourselves in those situations if we have not oriented our entire lives around training for Christ-likeness?  Probably not.  We should discipline our lives in a holistic way around living like Christ.  I do not plan to go into it here, but this leads into the heart of the book - spiritual disciplines practiced and taught in the Bible for spiritual growth. 

I suppose that following Jesus is a greater calling than hitting a baseball, and I should not expect to be able to cruise easily into the former just as I would not do for the latter.  Jesus guide me, by your grace, into a lifestyle that lives under your Lordship and friendship and guidance each minute.  You are infinitely smarter than I am, and you want me to grow in your ways.  Lead me.  Thank you for saving me, and thank you for this resurrection hope I have.  Pour your Spirit on me.  To you be all glory!  In your name, amen.