I had a conversation tonight with a friend where discipleship was brought up. I once read a great book The Cost of Discipleship and I recalled highlighting and underlining many of the good quotes when I read it, so tonight I went searching for the book. I could not find my copy of the book from the move - it is probably with the disc golf equipment, the rabbit ears and many other items that we cannot seem to locate these days - but I found some of them on the internet and it got me to thinking.
I realized that I have been so richly blessed with people who could mentor, mold and point me to Jesus. As I warm myself by the fire, I have been reminiscing about the wonderful, compassionate, Godly people who have helped me to become all that I am today. You see, discipleship is active, not passive. It requires time, effort and a willingness to press on even when you may not understand or believe you can go on.
One of the quotes I found tonight speaks perfectly to this fact...“[God says] Discipleship is not limited to what you can comprehend - it
must transcend all comprehension. Plunge into the deep waters beyond
your own comprehension, and I will help you to comprehend even as I do.
Bewilderment is the true comprehension. Not to know where you are going
is the true knowledge. My comprehension transcends yours.”
― Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship
You see, as humans we want to know all the answers and have the directions BEFORE we start the journey. We want to know the plan, have the path mapped out and know exactly each step we are taking before we even lace up our shoes. But one of the things my mentors have taught me is that many times I may not know the answer - EVER - and that I have to trust and believe that God is sovereign and His plan is perfect. Thank you God for bringing people into my life to teach me that fact. It has made it easier to walk this walk when I simply rest in the peace that you are taking me where I am supposed to go. There is freedom in not knowing. There is adventure and mystery and excitement.
The other thing I have learned about this walk from my mentors is that it is hard. We are not promised an easy road. As a matter of fact we promised trouble, hardships, and struggles. So with that being said, my life of discipleship has also been steeped in the knowledge that “When all is said and done, the life of faith is nothing if not an unending struggle of the spirit with every available weapon against the flesh.” - Dietrich Bonhoeffer. So we must remember that this world we live in wars against our spirit and that we are not fighting flesh and bone but something much bigger.
Thank you to my "giants of the faith" who have invested in me, loved me, walked with me, cried with me, struggled with me, prayed for me and well, walked beside me as we shared in our discipleship of Christ.
I realized that I have been so richly blessed with people who could mentor, mold and point me to Jesus. As I warm myself by the fire, I have been reminiscing about the wonderful, compassionate, Godly people who have helped me to become all that I am today. You see, discipleship is active, not passive. It requires time, effort and a willingness to press on even when you may not understand or believe you can go on.
One of the quotes I found tonight speaks perfectly to this fact...“[God says] Discipleship is not limited to what you can comprehend - it
must transcend all comprehension. Plunge into the deep waters beyond
your own comprehension, and I will help you to comprehend even as I do.
Bewilderment is the true comprehension. Not to know where you are going
is the true knowledge. My comprehension transcends yours.”
― Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship
You see, as humans we want to know all the answers and have the directions BEFORE we start the journey. We want to know the plan, have the path mapped out and know exactly each step we are taking before we even lace up our shoes. But one of the things my mentors have taught me is that many times I may not know the answer - EVER - and that I have to trust and believe that God is sovereign and His plan is perfect. Thank you God for bringing people into my life to teach me that fact. It has made it easier to walk this walk when I simply rest in the peace that you are taking me where I am supposed to go. There is freedom in not knowing. There is adventure and mystery and excitement.
The other thing I have learned about this walk from my mentors is that it is hard. We are not promised an easy road. As a matter of fact we promised trouble, hardships, and struggles. So with that being said, my life of discipleship has also been steeped in the knowledge that “When all is said and done, the life of faith is nothing if not an unending struggle of the spirit with every available weapon against the flesh.” - Dietrich Bonhoeffer. So we must remember that this world we live in wars against our spirit and that we are not fighting flesh and bone but something much bigger.
Thank you to my "giants of the faith" who have invested in me, loved me, walked with me, cried with me, struggled with me, prayed for me and well, walked beside me as we shared in our discipleship of Christ.
No comments:
Post a Comment