When it comes to discipleship, sometimes you have to sit and think about the things that you thought you already knew. Sometimes you have to do this because what you thought you knew you have actually forgotten. And sometimes you have to do this because in what you thought you knew you have been mistaken. And sometimes you have to do this because what you thought you knew you have not practiced, and knowing that is not made practical is a very poor kind of knowing.
The Sometimes of Discipleship
All of these “sometimes” are true of discipleship. Following Jesus is a very concrete and real thing. It is not just ideas that swim about in our heads. It is not just ideas talked about in church settings. It is a way of life, deeply shaped by Jesus and by the truth He speaks. But sometimes we take in His truth and then in the actual living of our lives we forget the things He said. And sometimes, though we thought we had understood discipleship, we have mistaken things, drifting off the path without realizing it. And sometimes what we have known we have not practiced and this is, indeed, a very poor kind of knowing.
Back to the Basics
And so we must think about discipleship again, go back to the very basics, go back to the gospel record, go back to sharpen our vision and correct our misunderstandings, and to put into practice what up until now may have only danced about as ideas in our minds. It is not that we bring into question our status as followers. We have walked with Jesus as best we knew how. We have learned from Him. But we remember that little phrase from Jesus, hidden away in Luke’s gospel. “Everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher.” Luke 6:40b And we are reminded that there is much yet to be taken hold of, much to be pursued, much to be learned. So, we would press on.
It is our delight to press on. And that is what this blog is all about, thinking through yet again the whole question of discipleship, thinking it through that we might take a few more steps towards being just like our Teacher.
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