If it is belief that separates the disciple from the unbeliever, what happens when we no longer live like we truly believe in Jesus?

We have hit critical mass in the western Christian world. Study the news for a few days to see what kind of impression Christ’s “disciples” are leaving on the world. Televangelists are hitting everyone up for money. Priests are abusing children. Preachers are turning away from the Gospel of Christ to preach a gospel of the world. In our attempt to make Scripture palatable to the unbeliever, we have turned our backs on the Bible. We live in a world that values pluralism and relativity and we have sought that world’s opinion over the approval of our Master. There is so much popular culture within the church that they are virtually indistinguishable. The church is like the small child who underestimates the ocean’s tide and finds himself dangerously far from the beach. We have drifted so far out that we can barely see our Father. At this distance, the face of our Lord and Savior blurs in with the crowd.

What then can we do? First, we must ask ourselves if we truly believe. Are we Christians because we truly believe or do we just go to church because that’s what Americans are supposed to do? Does Christ really reign supreme in our lives or do we use Him to support our pet causes or our favorite politician? Have you sought out a pastor who uses Scripture as the basis of his sermons? I’m not asking if your pastor mentions the Bible. Rather, does he begin with the Bible and throughout his sermon teach it in a way that reproves, rebukes, and encourages? Or does he preach a different gospel and occasionally use Scripture to back up what he is saying?

Many of have fallen into a snare that we can’t even see. We call ourselves disciples yet we have no clue what it means to truly disciple Christ; however, it isn’t too late. We have a gracious God who has communicated to us through Scripture. There is still time for us to study the Bible and press the global reset button on our discipleship. But to learn what discipleship truly is we must go to the Word.

The word discipleship(s) occurs in the New Testament over two hundred times. It comes from the Greek word mathetes. It is defined as a learner or pupil. It can be argued that we are all disciples of someone. We have all learned how to live our lives from someone. It may be our parents, our school teachers, our friends, or even reality television. We all disciple someone.

In the case of Christians, we have chosen to learn from Jesus Christ. We have chosen Christ as out Master because He is worthy. This choice is of vital importance. Matthew 10:25 says that if your master is called Beezlebub, those who follow him will be called even worse. Not only was the name Beezlebub another name for Satan, it was also the name of the Chaldean dung god. Roughly translated this means that if the master you choose is a piece of crap, you’ll be an even bigger piece of crap! Jesus is worthy of our discipleship. We can rest assured that our choice of Jesus as Master is well placed.

Once we’ve chosen Jesus, the Bible also teaches us how that choice should be demonstrated in our lives. Based on Scripture, we can create a profile of the perfect disciple of Christ:

• First, the perfect disciple recognizes that he is not above his master (Mat 10:24). The perfect disciple must maintain a humble spirit and continually recognize his master’s authority over his life.
• The perfect disciple must love his master above all other things including his wife, parents, children, brothers, sisters, and even himself (Luke 14:26). If one of these people is standing between us and Christ, we must hate them as compared to our feelings for Christ. Many people have a problem with the prospect of loving Christ more than their family. I can relate. I love my wife more than I love oxygen. There have been times in my life when my children were what inspired me to keep going. However, if I truly believe in Jesus, than I have to believe that He will teach me the best way to relate to and love my family. The perfect disciple puts Christ first and allows all other relationships to fall into order.
• The perfect disciple must be willing to carry heavy burdens in her pursuit of Christ (Luke 14:27). The perfect disciple isn’t perfect because she has never suffered. Rather, she is perfect because she follows Christ in the midst of her storm regardless of how difficult it is. She carries her own cross in pursuit of Christ.
• The perfect disciple is willing to give up all that he has to follow Christ (Luke 14:33). Discipleship to Christ is the most valuable part of the perfect disciple’s life. Think of your most valued possession or relationship. Imagine what it is that you treasure the most in your life. The perfect disciple would give that treasured item up in a heartbeat to continue in discipleship to Christ.

This concept of the perfect disciple seems a little daunting. After all, if any of us were capable of being the “perfect” disciple to Christ we probably wouldn’t be visiting a blog titled “The Imperfect Disciples!” We can take heart, however, in that we serve a gracious and merciful God. The apostle Paul likened our discipleship to a marathon. I’m going to liken it to something a little different. In southern Ohio there is an annual bicycle event called the Tour of the Scioto River Valley (TOSRV). Every year, on Mother’s Day weekend, cyclist set out from Columbus in central Ohio and pedal all the way to the Ohio River. The next day, these crazy cyclists make the return trip totaling over two miles by the end of the weekend. All of us that live along the TOSRV’s route find great amusement in those cyclists that get lost along the way. They may all set out from the same point and with the same destination, but there are always a few that get lost along the way and find themselves way off course. This is how our discipleship works. We all begin with a belief that Christ is a Master worthy of discipleship. Along the way, some of us get lost. We may not pedal as fast as the other disciples. We may not all be prepared physically and emotionally for the trip, however, we all have to cross the same hills. It takes effort. We may even have to get off of the bike and walk. However, if we strive to keep Christ as our master and to make our discipleship to Him our most important relationship, we will all reach the river!

There may never be a “perfect” disciple to Jesus Christ. Peter’s belief faltered. Thomas doubted. Paul referred to himself as the chief of all sinners. The point is that even Lance Armstrong crashes his bike every once in awhile! Thankfully, Scripture teaches that discipleship to Christ is a process.  Luke 6:40 says that when we are fully trained we will look like our master. We are all still in training, however, if we all profess to believe that discipleship is a journey worth taking, we must begin by making the right decisions now. We must begin by evaluating ourselves and living as if we truly believe Christ is our Lord.

For without belief we are no different than anyone else.

The first smells that entered God’s nostrils of flesh were most likely the stench of manure.  The prince of peace was subjected to a stink that we modern humans avoid at all costs.  He was wrapped in rags of cloth and laid in the place from which the livestock fed.  The co-owner of creation, at his birth, was left among the marginalized and the dispossessed.  It is important in viewing this scene not to view it with rose-colored glasses.  It is important not to see this in soft fuzzy lighting with an eye toward some nostalgic perspective.

God entered the world into squalor.  The scene at his birth was likely a chaotic one.  It is unlikely that Mary and Joseph were alone in the cave that functioned as a stable.  This place was likely filled with other poor travelers that couldn’t find lodging anywhere in Bethlehem. It is unlikely that this place had been cleared of animals.  And so it was that God came into the world among a crowded cave filled with the flotsam and jetsam that made up the bottom rungs of Jewish society at that time.   The stench of sweaty, unwashed people most likely mixed with the foul odor of the livestock and their decaying offal to create an overwhelming odor that I honestly cannot begin to imagine.

This moment at God’s birth was the fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah regarding, “A great light” and “Unto us a son is given”.  Our modern minds tend to focus on the great chorus of angels that heralded the birth of the Messiah and the Magi that came from the east.  We tend to try and avoid focusing on the stable in which the Christ was born.  And yet it is in this humble cave that an amazing event occurred.  A teenage virgin, engaged to a carpenter, gave birth to the prince of peace there.  And the miracle of this season took place.  The miracle that affirmed God’s will for his creation was brought to fruition there.

It is puzzling that the creator of the universe chose such a lowly place to enter the world he created.  The God that parted the Red Sea, gave Daniel comfort in the lion’s den, provided the support for Meshack, Shadrack, and Abednigo; entered the world in a place, and a time that none would have expected.  God confounded the expectations of his people as he began fulfilling his promise of a messiah.  The birth of the Messiah was primarily witnessed by livestock, the unlucky, the dispossessed, and a small band of shepherds. Not exactly a proper court for the King of Kings, but it is what God selected.

The moment of the birth of the Messiah was an amazing moment in time.  It was a majestic event that happened in the midst of manure.  I cannot help but be awed by it.  I cannot help but be left speechless when I consider it.  The march to the cross began in a stable filled with the fragrant aroma of decaying fecal matter.  The nostrils of the Messiah were filled with the stench of this life from His very first breath.  The stench of our sin, and degradation was in his nose from the very beginning.  And God didn’t run from it, or select a different place to avoid it.  God chose to step into this life in the most humble of circumstances and be exposed from the very beginning to the stench of our existence.  He chose to seek out his creation at its most raw and basal level.  He didn’t shrink from the appointment with us.  He welcomed it, he invited it, and he took it squarely head on, beginning with the moment of his birth.

In a lowly cave in Bethlehem, God came near to us two millennia ago.  He has chosen to abide with his creation.  He has chosen through substitutional sacrifice to impute value into his own, to impute his value into his own.  He chose to draw near to those capable of hearing his voice.  And he has never left us since.

 I have somehow managed to avoid yielding to this temptation.  This has been a struggle to be sure, as I am not by nature an optimist.  It has been to date a combination of white knuckled determination and faith.  I have managed to cling to the hope that this patch of instability will pass someday, (soon hopefully).  I have done this by remembering what the writer of the book of Ecclesiastes said, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens”.  This verse reminds me that all things have their appointed time in which to partake of them, and that all things that begin will eventually end.

 This season is not one that I would have chosen for myself.  It is not something that I would have volunteered to undergo by any means.  If I had known what this season would entail, I certainly would have taken measures to avoid it.  It has however been a season that to date has been very instructive and revelatory for me.  This moment in time has taught me many things in the short time I have endured it.  I thought it productive to share some of them with you here.

 Less is More

 This statement tends to confound the materialistic perspective that drives most of our lives, and certainly drove mine.  The heart of this post-modern age seems to still be, “Get all you can, Can all you get, and Sit on the can”.  This is somewhat at odds with what I am going through right now.  This season has guaranteed that I cannot indulge my every materialistic wish and whim.  A certain measure of discipline has come into my life by force.  As I am not a disciplined person by nature this turn of events has not been welcome by any means.

I have been reminded me that happiness is not found in the abundance of things.  I have found that happiness isn’t in getting everything you want, but in wanting what you get.  And also in appreciating what you have.  My inability to buy the next shiny gadget that beeps and buzzes isn’t the measure of my life.  In fact, if anything, this inability has reminded me how much I already have. 

This season has forced a certain limitations upon me due to financial necessity.  It has created a lack of funds for a broad swath of discretionary things I enjoyed.  It has created an inability to purchase a bagel sandwich and Danish most days.  I was surprised to find that this doesn’t make me unhappy.  It has reminded me that I am capable of cooking for myself things that taste nearly as good for a fraction of the cost. This time in my life has created an inability to go and buy a stack of books a couple of times a month and I have found much to my chagrin that this doesn’t make me unhappy.  It has forced me to inventory what I already have and start reading the wealth of unread tomes that make up my library.  I am now not able to go out and buy a new laptop but like the other examples this hasn’t made me unhappy.  It has made me appreciate the large amount of computer equipment and power that I already possess.

True happiness as it turns out, has less to do with volume than it does with the amplitude with which the existing state is enjoyed.  And so in my case, less stuff has actually equaled more happiness.  I have found that it is all about the perspective with which the current state is approached.  I have found that I can get along just fine without the current latest and greatest things.  I have found that joy isn’t found there. 

 Slow Down

The simple truth of my life prior to the onset of this season could be encapsulated in two simple words: Hustle and Hurry.  My life was quite fast paced, and in everything I found myself feeling rushed.  I was always behind the targets I had set for myself.  I was late to set my feet on what I thought would be my life long career path.  I was late to the both the institutions of marriage and fatherhood.  I was late to coming to the place of realizing all of my goals for my life.

 And so in typical American fashion, I felt the pressure to pick up the pace in order to catch up with where I perceived I needed to be.  This forced me to rush through things, that I should have taken more time with or at least taken a more deliberative approach to handling.  It forced me into a place where I was in a hurry with everything and wasn’t able to enjoy anything.  Prior to the onset of this season, I knew I wasn’t happy.  And I knew that my unhappiness was intrinsically tied to my inability to take the time to focus on any given thing. 

This knowledge didn’t force me to slow down by any means.  It forced me to hustle all the more through what I saw as unimportant drivel to get to the important things in my life.  The problem was simple though.  The more I plowed through the unimportant stuff, the more unimportant stuff there was to plow through.  I was never really able to break through the mundane and dispense with the banal things of my life.  I was constantly trying to shred the crap to get to what I thought was important.

 The harder I tried this approach the less happy I was with it.  It was only in accepting this season, and coming to terms with its entrance into my life, that things have changed for me.  This season has forced me to slow down.  It has forced me to linger over the events of my life.  It has only been in accepting that my life before was what the book of Ecclesiastes calls, “A chasing after the wind”, that I have been able to find peace and joy in the slowness and stillness of this new period of my life.  It has been in finding joy in the mundane, and peace in the banal things of life, that I have become a much happier person.

 It has been in slowing down enough to enjoy raking the leaves, cleaning the gutters, and doing light housework, that I have found peace and joy.  It has only been in realizing the importance of the mundane that I have felt privileged to participate in it.  It has been in slowing down enough to appreciate the sunset that the purpose of life has become all too clear to me.

 Dwell in the Now

This time in my life has slowed me down and stripped me of my desires for inconsequential things.  It has forced me to live my life as God intended it, moment by moment.  God intended for man to dwell in the now.  He desired for his creation to live a lifetime in a single breath.  And to realize that each moment was a gift from God.  As children we lived this principle fully.  Children are amazing in that they are able to revel in the glory of a simple moment in time.  They are able to dwell for a time playing more with the packaging a new thing came in than with the new thing itself.

 As adults we lose touch with this, and become focused not on the moment, but on planning for what’s next.  We live our entire lives without actually being present in the moment that is happening right now in front of us.  I was as guilty of this as anyone.  Life was unfolding in front me, and I was unable to dwell in it as God had intended for me.  I was consumed with anything but the moment in front of me.  This was not a good way to live my life.

 As this season came to fully dwell in my life, it has brought into sharp contrast that all I have is this moment in particular.  All I have is this time to revel in the glory of the life that God has granted me.  All I have is right now.  That is all I am guaranteed.  Anything that comes next is pure bonus.  It has drawn me closer to the things that dwell in my life on a daily basis.  It has reminded me of the rich blessing of being the full contact daddy right now.  It has reminded me that I get to do more to help out around the house right now than at any time before in my marriage.  It has reminded me that any day spent breathing and upright is a blessing and should be treated as such.

 I don’t have any illusions that this time is some Norman Rockwellesque utopia.  I know that there are serious issues to confront right now.  I know that my life is uncertain right now.  I do however feel like I have woken up from a long sleep and am beginning to enjoy life in the way I was intended to by my creator.  I am convinced that the God who closed the door on my previous life wouldn’t do so without having a plan for what comes next.  The old hymn I sang as a child comes to mind right now, “I am convinced that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day.” 

 This season with its instability and uncertainty will pass in due course in the fullness of time.  It will be replaced with whatever God has planned for next.  My task is to not worry about what comes next, but rather to slow down, accept that less is more, and dwell in the only thing guaranteed me by my creator: which is now.