Reading notes on:
Devotional Classics / Preparing for the Spiritual Life / Page 13

The second selection includes excerpts from The Spirit of the Disciplines: Understanding How God Changes Lives by Dallas Willard.

Willard’s views of discipleship and the lack thereof caught my attention yesterday. He wrote,

“Most problems in contemporary churches can be explained by the fact that members have not yet decided to follow Christ.

Little good results from insisting that Christ is also supposed to be Lord: to present his lordship as an option leaves it squarely in the category of the white-wall tires and stereo equipment for the new car. You can do without it. And it is–alas!–far from clear what you would do with it. Obedience and training in obedience form no intelligible doctrinal or practical unity with the salvation presented in recent versions of the gospel.”(14)

Willard explains the Great Commission and says the church has changed it. We’ve stopped making disciples [students of Christ] and teaching people to obey Christ… now we “Make converts and baptize them into church membership.” (14)

Willard says that “The disciple of Christ desires above all else to be like him… And if we intend to become like Christ, that will be obvious to every thoughtful person around us, as well as to ourselves.” (15, 16)

The selection concludes with an explanation of the cost of nondiscipleship.

“Nondiscipleship costs abiding peace, a life penetrated throughout by love, faith that sees everything in the light of God’s overriding governance for good, hopefulness that stands firm in the most discouraging of circumstances, power to do what is right and withstand the forces of evil. In short, it costs exactly that abundance of life Jesus said he came to bring.” (16)

I want to be like Christ. I want to be a student of his. I’m so very tired of casual Christianity. I want an abundant life full of love, faith, hope, and power. More and more, our culture values authenticity. People are turned off by nondisciples who call themselves Christians. They have no desire to become like them– people playing church but lacking true faith, love, hope and power. Why play church as if it were a social game or a get out of jail free card when Jesus has offered us the amazing opportunity to become his students? Why merely pretend to know the great teacher when He has invited you to follow him daily, hear his words, share meals, rub shoulders and take part in what he’s doing?

Bible Selection: Matthew 28:16-20

Reflection Question: “What would change about your life if you were to focus all your energies on becoming like Christ?”