Living This Kind Of Life

I was asked to share something about discipleship with a multi-generational group of people recently.

As you may have gathered having a brief scan of this site, I take inspiration from various sources.  On this occasion, I was inspired by the song above.

Growing up my Mum loved her some Andrae Crouch.  Like the dutiful son, I too liked me some Andrae Crouch.  This song was never high up on the loves.  Yet recently I came to appreciate the song again.  As ever it was the lyrical content that gave me pause for thought.

The connection between that and discipleship should hopefully be clear, but to draw it out further – as I did for the group – I explored and shared what the life of Jesus is like.  (Note what it is like – not just what it was like.)

That challenge brought a wide array of answers involving prayer and fasting, to acts of mercy.  In all that though, it was also undeniable that the life of Jesus is not a boring one.  It is also a sacrificial and serving type of life.

This kind of life is driven by relationships – primarily with God and essentially with others.  It is a life that brings us new family and friends who in their human frailty still express aspects of the love of Christ.  As we learn to live with them, so we pick up those Christ-like attributes and as God leads develop closer relationships.

It is the kind of life that seeks those on the fringes of society and embraces them with overwhelming compassion and care.  It is the kind of life that does not consider the ‘least in society’ worth ignoring, but worth serving.

This kind of life brings with it opposition, misunderstanding and hostility.  It is challenging and costly.  Yet it is the life that is liberating, fulfilling and overflowing with an unspeakable joy.

As we explored this kind of life together and compared and contrasted to some of our experiences, and some of the ‘Christian’ lifestyles that hade been observed, it was clear that in some cases there is still work to be done in aligning our efforts, with the kind of life Jesus offers.

That was not a deterrent though, because of the endearing and attractive aspect of the life that Jesus lives.  It was not a deterrent as we also acknowledged that it was the kind of life we are offered every day by the power of the Holy Spirit.

What else marks out what it is to live this kind of life?

For His Name’s Sake

Shalom

C. L. J. Dryden