Have you heard the word, or the concept of, discipleship? It's an idea that is very important to people who are followers of Jesus and his way of living. In fact, Jesus said the great mission of his life would flow out of what he had been doing for three years - developing people in how to live life in relationship with God for the benefit of others.
Dallas Willard, the late philosopher and professor at the University of Southern California, defines a disciple as someone 'in the process of becoming who Jesus would be if he were you.'
So, if I am on this quest to discover the image of Jesus in my own life what will the result be?
In the movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Indiana searches for the Holy Grail, believed to be the chalice Jesus drank from at the Last Supper thinking it would offer healing for his father. suffering from a gunshot wound. As he seems to be dying he helps his son navigate an unknown path when suddenly they discover they are to walk in the ‘name of God.’ They do this by following a path of letters that spell the Latin equivalent of Jehovah.
Once Indy gets past that place of having a visual path to follow he moves forward to a place where there is no path. Instead of a path, he is greeted by an infinite abyss below him and where he wants to go. His self-speech is the truth of Scripture that reminds him to go forward in faith. With no apparent relief in sight, he takes a step into the unknown. He has no control, no ability, and no power to keep from falling…yet, he does not fall. With each step into nothingness, a path begins to emerge that leads him to his destination.
My mission in life, developing disciples, is essentially a task of soul renovation. God's intention for us is to make us better, make us more, move us every beyond where we are and even what we can imagine. I am on this task for myself, and in the true spirit of Christianity inviting others into community with me. To what end? That together, we imagine a world in which people’s lives flourish as they increasingly become like Jesus.
We all have walked pathways that have brought us to today. We are where we are but we are not yet completely renovated. We are still repairing and improving Some ways have been wonderful and good. Some may have been not so good.
Today we choose to walk in the name of God, as Indy did, and emerge into a place of faith engaging our entire being in pursuit of the life of Jesus alive in our awareness.
Peter, the great friend and disciple of Jesus, writes about this pursuit, "Though now you do not see [Jesus], yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the result of your faith—the salvation of your souls." (1 Peter 1.8-9) That IS what it is all about, the fullness of life from the inside out, from the spirit to the soul and then to the everyday living of life. As the Apostle Paul writes, and Eugene Peterson paraphrases, "So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out."
There is an old song about our main thoroughfare, Peachtree Street, through downtown Atlanta, Georgia. It's a song about progress, growth, and betterment. It sings, Old Peachtree's a street that is noble and fine
A street no Atlantan could ever malign We're used to the traffic, we're used to the din,
Oh, they're tearing up Peachtree again, again
Oh, they're tearing up Peachtree again!
But it just gets better every time! My prayer is that our soul renovation continues the same, repairing and improving over and over.
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