Is discipleship a People Path or People Garden?

We know we are journeying on a pathway towards eternity.  Jesus said, "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." Mt 7:13–14.

For this reason, we, pastors, often categorize discipleship as a "people path." We think of the maturity process as if it were an assembly line or college degree, as if one step down the road leads to another, as if one set of knowledge builds on another.  We plan start-and-finish projects or programs.  We say to ourselves, "We are growing when we've completed that thing..."  I am wondering if it is possible that we've made an error with our imagery, or at least an error focusing so much on this particular image?

What if discipleship is more like being a garden on the path?  What if its not about walking further down the endless road, adding parts, and adding pedigree?  What if its not about walking into the far distance, but plowing the soil nearby in our own small patch?  Really, we move down the path just because time itself moves us down the path.  We can't stay at one point on the path even if we wanted to.  We are always moving closer to eternity.  Whether we are growing to maturity or not, Jesus is coming again.  So what if we choose on which path to plant ourselves and then maturity is like tending to the soil around us?  We float down the path we've chosen and our garden floats along with us?  Does that change how we think and what we do?

In some ways it won't change what we do.  We'll still have projects and programs to help us acquire knowledge and to organize ministry.  We'll still worship together, listen to preaching together, participate in the Lord's table together, and pray together.

On the hand, I do believe it will change how we think.  We will start saying, "We are not mature when we've completed that thing...  ...rather we are mature when we are personally cultivating righteousness and weeding out sin.  We don't always have to be moving into the unknown but rather we grow when we thrive right here in this space.  I don't always have to be moving on to the next thing at the church, but I grow here myself even as I float in and out of those things.

Missionaries don't grow just because they go.  We don't grow just because we are busy.  We grow when our day-to-day lives reflect the glory of The Father through faith in Christ and submission to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

We do have to choose a path, we do have to enter it through one gate, but once we are on the path, is it more like cultivating than journeying?  There's seasons, there's weeds that spring up and die out, and there's fruit.  I am not always moving and hitting targets.  I am rather digging, pruning, being still, and watering the patch of land around me, even as I go into the situations the Lord sees fit to bring me.

18 “Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” Mt 13:18-23.

Elijah, John, Jesus -- Lives of Protest!

In the past few weeks I have just been slain by the life of John the Baptist, who lived in "spirit" of Elijah.  John lived a life modelled after Elijah, who modelled a spirit of protest against mediocrity and paganism.  In Elijah's day it was political servitude, Israelite kings serving foreign kings, and Baal worship.  In John's day it was also political servitude, the pharisees aligning with the Herod's, and Jewish/pagan syncretism.  Jesus, the greatest prophet, then came with the greatest attitude of protest, the Kingdom of Heaven against the Great City of Babylon, which was the greatest symbol of sexy sophisticated rebellion).

So I have been convicted to protest more. I am compelled to find injustice and unrighteousness and protest against them.  But I am scared.

I think we have muddied our image of Jesus.  We have put a hot wet clay of "weakness" on him and made his image melt a little.  But Jesus protested, just like John, just like Elijah.  In fact, the first two demonstrated Jesus' heart in their protest because He exists before them, not they before Him.

Do you protest?  Do you ever do anything to wake up yourself and others from mediocrity?  

Do you do anything to stand out as Christ follower, as one who believes in Messiah? 

Do you make yourself ugly, or make unpopular choices, to protest against the selfishness and rebellion of this generation?  Does your faith cost you money?  Does your faith cost you popularity?  

Ladies do you protest with modest clothing even though others will say you are outdated?  Do you guard your tongues from spreading gossip?  Do you ever protest self-indulgence? 

Men do you protest by working to provide enough or are you enslaved to the dollar?  Do you choose a few toys rather than going for all of them?  Do you protest by keeping your mouth clean from vulgarity and slander?  

Parents do you protest by choosing good habits for your children, like Sunday morning church attendance and family Bible study, or do you let them do every sport, at anytime?  Parents do you protest by removing your children from the classroom when evolution is taught?  Do you stop watching television programs because of subtle language or lessons that attack your child's faith.  

Kids do you protest when another child is cruel on the school yard?  Do you help the one who just got beat up?  Do you protest getting too many toys from your family?

Teens do you protest against sex before marriage and getting drunk?

We have believed the idea that people will come to Jesus if we are attractive enough, but we spend so much time looking in the mirror and comparing ourselves to magazine covers that we have become vain and insecure in our identity.  We always look for validation from the world -- our peers.  We try to look good all the time; instead of being homely.  

This is a significant error.  First of all, none of us is that good looking.  Second, Jesus was a protestor.  From the day He was born, people wanted to kill Him because He undermined their personal ambitions.  Even, if you humbly, gently, and correctly protest, people will still oppose you because you stand against their personal ambitions, but do it for the sake of being like Jesus.

Let us regain a spirit of "protest" with humble and devoted hearts before Jesus the Messiah.  And count the cost.  And let the chips fall where they may.  And let our blood be spilt if necessary.