Discipleship Letters 25-26

Discipleship Letter 25                                                            August 31, 2008

“Growth—and indeed life—means moving to criticism: a new awareness of self in conflict, of others in dishonest interestedness, of God in enmity” [Walter Brueggemann, The Psalms and the Life of Faith. Edited by Patrick D. Miller (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1995), p. 25].

Spiritual formation cannot happen without a particular context. Disciples live on earth and are bounded by space and time.

We grow in context. We experience divine goodness and guidance in context. We question Him in the same context. God is not a Greek god who is beyond our grasp. Rather, the biblical God is the God of Event. He reveals himself in historical events. He rescued his people from Egypt. He also sent them into exile due to their rebellion and disobedience. Spiritual formation occurs in between.

We grow in relationship. We grow when a relationship goes well. We grow even more when it doesn’t. When things don’t go well, we turn inward, realizing that we are very limited—things are beyond our grasp. Such realization is important for spiritual formation because controlling is the opposite of letting go, which is the key element in spiritual formation.   

Whatever context we’re in, pray to God earnestly, and deal with Him directly. “Prayer cannot be thought, but must be spoken” (p. 33).

We grow in speech toward God.

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Discipleship Letter 26                                                                        January 25, 2009

Discipleship is the process of becoming Christlike. Imitation of Christ is always the essence of discipleship. As a church, if we fail to become Christlike, we fail to function as a church. As an individual, if we fail to become Christlike, we fail to live as a disciple.

To become Christlike is to grow in all areas of life. There is no pick-and-choose Christianity. Jesus said, “You are truly my disciples if you keep obeying my teachings” (Jn. 8:31). It can also mean that if we don’t keep his teachings, we are not His disciples. Jesus’ own teachings should always keep us in check. We believe, but do we obey? Partial obedience? Or total surrender?

“So even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered” (Heb. 5:8). We imitate Christ and become Christlike. For us, what are “the things” that we need to suffer with Him? God has His own way to deal with His people. He doesn’t deal with the things that we’re willing to give up. He always aims at “the things” that we are unwilling to give up, for that’s where we learn obedience, saying “Yet I want your will, not mine” (Mk. 14:36). “Your will, not mine” is a simple saying, yet it’s an indicator for spiritual growth. From time to time, when we keep saying Yes to “the things”, we’re practicing another saying, “My will, not yours,” which shows spiritual recession.