Missing
the Point
.
by Bob Tedesco
Introduction
Many years ago, while considering the crowd
following Jesus, I thought that I could identify
types of people in the crowd, and I noticed that
Jesus sometimes addressed them directly. There
were twelve apostles with Peter, James and John
as a special subset. There were disciples:
radical followers of their master, Jesus. There
were believers: basically positive toward Jesus
and benefiting from his teaching and ministry.
There was (I imagined) a group which was
undecided...interested but basically neutral.
They could wave palms one day and shout,
“Crucify him!” the next. There were also enemies
that were clearly intending to catch Jesus in an
error that would disqualify him and eventually
be used at his trial.
When Jesus taught, he might identify one of
these groups and supply an answer to their
questions. “You might think this...but I say...”
I have always thought that nominal Christians
look like the “believers” in the group. We
believe, but only allow the belief to impinge
upon our daily lives to a limited extent.
*(We have to be
very careful since the Scriptures use the term
“believer” in a sense more like disciple. To
use the word this way can seem negative or
elitist, but I’m hoping it calls us on.)
The
Rich Young Man
In the middle of all of those groupings was a
rich young man who comes up to Jesus saying,
“Teacher,
what good deed must I do, to have eternal
life?” And he said to him, “Why do you ask me
about what is good? There is only one who is
good. If you would enter life, keep the
commandments.” He said to him, “Which?” And
Jesus said, “You shall not kill, You shall not
commit adultery, You shall not steal, You
shall not bear false witness, Honor your
father and mother, and, You shall love your
neighbor as yourself.” The young man said to
him, “All these I have observed; what do I
still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you would
be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give
to the poor, and you will have treasure in
heaven; and come, follow me.” When the young
man heard this, he went away sorrowful; for he
had great possessions.
-
Matthew19: 16-22
I have heard many teachings
and sermons on this story, but I can’t shake the
feeling that we’re missing the point. This is
one of those, “What must I do to be saved?”
scriptures that Jesus takes to another level. He
answers, “If you would be saved, obey.” “If you
would be perfect, follow me!” There are a few
distinctions here: 1) saved is improved to
perfect; and 2) obey is improved to “follow me.”
Now, it truly is a warning
about possessions and their ability to impede
the call. It even leads into the “camel through
the eye of the needle” story about riches. But
we can focus on the warning about possessions
and miss a main point: the call.
“Follow Me”...Background
“Follow me,” or similar phrases appear 19-20
times in the New Testament and it signifies the
invitation to discipleship. The dictionary
definition for the word disciple is simply:
learner, pupil, student. Jesus’ disciples were
more like joining an army; your life was at
risk; giving up your life was a requirement.
And he said to
all, “If any man would come after me, let him
deny himself and take his cross daily and
follow me. For whoever would save his life
will lose it; and whoever loses his life for
my sake, he will save it.”
- Luke
9: 23-24
There was no school
building; they literally had to follow him. It
was a whole life commitment. The abundant life
of John 10:10 follows the death of the grain of
wheat.
One teacher had these main qualities for a
disciple:
Faithful: You have to
know that the treasure that you’re passing on
will be treated with respect and shared with
others.
Available: You can’t
pass on life and wisdom if the disciple is never
there, the 50-60 hour work week is eliminating
some good candidates for Christian discipleship.
Teachable: We will be
learning things throughout our lives. Our Lord
knows much more than us, and he reveals things
as needed and when we can handle it. The Navy
Seal Creed states: “My training is never
completed.” So the discipleship starter kit is:
faithful, available, teachable.
A key event in the discipleship process is when
a person becomes other-centered. This might be
triggered by an event or happen more slowly by
process.
In the miraculous feeding of the 5000, Jesus
said to his disciples, “You give them something
to eat!” Then he basically said, “I’ll give you
the stuff and you distribute it!” Another
example is when the 70 were sent out to minister
the so-called “little commission.” And then, of
course, The Great Commission is to disciple
others.
To sum this up, self-centered spirituality (or
discipleship) is “doomed”. I can go to a retreat
where I get the most out of it or go to a
different retreat where we get the most out if
it. Some individual recharging is necessary, but
making too many decisions based on what’s best
for me...is going in the wrong direction. The
switch from self-centered faith to
other-centered faith is a necessary part of the
discipleship process.
Another distinction: Believers are informed and
impressed by faith. Disciples are informed and
impressed by faith and act on it!
Follow me...the questions
This kind of challenging approach to
discipleship raises some immediate questions. It
was clear that the rich young man was saying,
“No!” to “Follow me.” “No!” to “if you would be
perfect...” But, for us, Jesus is not so clearly
before me...challenging me. How do I follow him?
How do I hear his voice?
We have always had one talk in our beginning
foundation course on guidance. One of the
earliest teachers to write about guidance was
Bob Mumford. He said his approach was similar to
the harbor lights of navigation...when the three
lights are aligned you’re on the right course.
His three lights were: the inner witness, the
scriptures, and the circumstances. He sited an
example: as a young pastor and teacher, he
believed that the Lord was showing him that he
would preach in South America (inner witness).
So, he packed his bags and went down to the
docks expecting the Lord to provide passage to
South America. Nothing happened. He went back
home having learned something about guidance:
the inner witness seemed clear; it was not in
violation with Scripture, but the
circumstances did not line up. Years
later, he preached and taught in South America!
Anytime that I have taught his example, I add
two additional harbor lights: pastoral input and
our corporate life. “Personal” leadings should
be discerned and influenced by a pastoral leader
or pastor. We can also get input from the wider
body and its mission. More important leadings
and decisions merit more serious pastoral and
corporate input.
Note: the call to discipleship is different from
the apostolic call, but the beginnings are the
same: “Follow me!” We are called to pursue, to
imitate, to absorb, to embrace and to live out
the life of Christ.
Paul was a discipler and he expected Timothy
(and others) to imitate him, even as a parent
expects to raise up a son or daughter to adult
life.
I urge you,
then, be imitators of me. - 1
Corinthians 4:16
Be imitators of me as I am
of Christ. - 1Corinthians 11: 1
Good,
better, best
The U.S. Navy Seals strive to be the best. As
mentioned earlier, their training is never
completed.
“My nation expects me to be...stronger than my
enemies. If knocked down, I will get back up,
every time...I am never out of the fight.” These
are not “Beetle Bailey” soldiers; they are
striving to be the best.
We, too, are in a battle; we will need to be
better than our enemies...if God is for us, who
can be against us. I believe that we are called
to be the best. “Good” is a good man; “better” a
believer; “best” a disciple.
In a battle, would we want good, better or the
best armament? The answer is the best; the armor
of God.
The key to community and mission is committed
disciples. A community of “believers” (or
nominal Christians) will not last. The mission
is too dangerous for “good” or “better” armor.
The key to Christian family and Christian
parenting is radical discipleship: parents who
embrace radical discipleship work to raise their
children to be radical disciples of the Lord
Jesus.
Slippage: a human talent
There is something about human nature that seems
to fall back, to backslide, and to return to its
old ways. “Good enough”, “close enough” and
other mindless constructs become cracks in our
armor. Our tendencies remind me of an electrical
example: we can have a steady state voltage that
defines the circuit. The voltage can drop below
or rise above the steady state, but always
return to its “steady state”.
The nature of slippage can happen in many areas
such as understanding the Word of God and its
application to discipleship. Millions of renewal
Christians have returned to their steady
state...but the Lord is calling us on. The
spiritual life is never completed but a call
upward and onward!
“I know your
works: you’re neither cold nor hot. Would that
you were cold or hot!...Those whom I love, I
reprove and chasten...He who conquers, I will
grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I
myself conquered and sat down with my Father
on his throne.”
-
Revelation 3: 15, 19, 21.
One more thing from the rich
young man story: Jesus connects “perfect” with
“follow me”. It seems tome that there is
something “perfect” about following him. I think
we tend to see the call to perfection as
something resulting in an inhumanly flawless
disciple. There is something “perfect” about his
disciples who just say, “Yes Lord, I will follow
you.”
The Point: Total dedication is
what he called for
If we’re too
busy, too rich, too successful, too fit...
We should ask: “Am I
missing the point?”
Bob Tedesco is past President of the North
American Region of the Sword of the Spirit.
He is a founder of the People of
God community in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania, USA, and has been one of its
key leaders for the past 40 years.
|
