Discipleship Letters 93-94

Discipleship Letter 93                                                June 27^th, 2010

As Christ’s disciples, our goal is to be like Him. Christ-likeness is the goal of every follower of Jesus Christ. Whenever my goal is shifted from the vision of being like Christ to the ministry of Christ, I spend most of my time to think about ministry of Christ, but I miss the Christ of ministry. The love for Christ is lost. When love and vision are no longer there, nothing will be fruitful, for our lives are not fruitful. The fruit of the Spirit is love… When the love for Christ is substituted with the work for Christ, we’re mere workers. As a result, we fail to view the ministry of Christ and the Christ of ministry properly as God’s children.

Jesus prayed to the Father. I think about my prayer life. I study hard. I teach hard. I preach hard. But I don’t pray hard. Prayer is one of my weaknesses. Many times I remind myself of the fact that spiritual walk is sustained by prayer. As Clement of Alexandria said, “Prayer is keeping company with God.” I have problems of praying. Does it mean that I have problems to have Him as my companion? Theologically, I know that God walks alongside me. What about ethically? “Prayer is a matter of theology and ethics, both thinking and doing” [James Houston, The Prayer: Deepening Your Friendship with God (Colorado Springs: Victor, 2007), p. 10.].

Sometimes I can’t believe myself not praying much. And I can’t bear with the fact that I don’t enjoy praying. When a pastor doesn’t enjoy praying, the congregation can’t be in good shape.

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Discipleship Letter 94                                                July 11^th, 2010

If we only have position but no vision, what we do in ministry is a burden. What we do must be sustained by the vision that we have for God. In other words, we serve because of our vision of God. God calls everyone to serve. Because I am responsible for the congregation, I’d say “I want more people to serve.” Not only do I want more people to serve, but I also long for each of us to have a vision of God. “Be Thou My Vision” should be the dictum for all Christians. Serving without vision is a burden; vision without serving is a dream. 

Usually vision comes from a particular need in a community. God may show you in some areas that need to be improved. He lets you see it; He doesn’t expect others to do something about it. Rather, He expects you to labor with grace. In the midst of it, you are being transformed by this vision, for you work out your salvation that God has already worked in your life. A need turns into a vision that motivates you to make a difference. However, the difference that we “make” is like a mustard seed, for the kingdom of God is tiny and invisible. The parable of the mustard seed delays our instant gratification in the church. From a seed to a tree, mystery, faith, hope, and endurance are involved in between.

“This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how” (Mk. 4:26-27).