Practicing the Way of Jesus
The following is a cliff notes version of part 2 of our series. I’ve written a long version that you can read below.
Following Jesus is an invitation to attach ourselves to Him above everything else. (Lk. 9:23)
Following Jesus is to follow a real person, who is still with us today through the power of his Spirit. (Mt. 28:20)
Following Jesus is a way of life that can be pursued by orienting our lives around four core values:
Seeking growth in God’s love and neighbor (Become like Jesus)
Using practices as a means of grace (Be with Jesus)
Sharing fellowship with spiritual friends and family (Listen to Jesus)
Engaging mission in everyday life (Led by Jesus)
We grow as missional disciples when we press into these four core values both individually and communally (Band / Table Community).
-----
Extended Version:
An Invitation
Jesus’ invitation was, and still is, to, “Come, follow me” (Mt. 4:19). In Luke’s gospel, Jesus says, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” (Luke 9:23) Jesus doesn’t hold back! This is an all or nothing invitation. To follow means to move or travel behind someone. It seems obvious, but to go ahead and state the obvious, it’s really hard to follow behind multiple people at once!
In the first century it was customary for young Jewish boys to study the torah with the hopes of one day accepting the call from a rabbi (ie teacher) to, “follow me”, and become their student. The ultimate goal would be to become a rabbi themselves. But very few people were selected by a rabbi and even fewer became a rabbi. Those who weren’t selected to study under a rabbi would usually take on their father’s trade.
When Jesus comes onto the scene he invites those who didn’t make the cut (like Peter) to follow him. Can you imagine being selected by Jesus after being rejected by all the other rabbis? This would have been a life-altering invitation. The difference with Jesus, however, is that he doesn’t limit who can follow him, like other rabbis of the day. In Luke 9, Jesus says whoever wants to be my disciple can follow me. Then later in Luke we read this story:
57 As they were walking along, someone said to Jesus, “I will follow you wherever you go… 59 He (Jesus) said to another person, “Come, follow me.” The man agreed, but he said, “Lord, first let me return home and bury my father.” 60 But Jesus told him, “Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead! Your duty is to go and preach about the Kingdom of God. Another said, “Yes, Lord, I will follow you, but first let me say good-bye to my family.” (Luke 9:57-61)
The invitation to all people still stands, but the cost for many people is too high. Lord, let me first go and do this or that. While Jesus’ response to “let the spiritually dead bury the dead” sounds harsh, the point is this — you cannot follow Jesus and follow your own way. There will always be a “burial” in the way and a propensity to say, “Yes, I’ll follow you, but first…”. These will never leave us.
Attaching Ourselves to Jesus
Another way to talk about following Jesus is using the language of attachment. In Colossians, Paul says those who have been raised with Christ, should set their hearts and minds on things above (3:1-4). As a result, we are to put to death whatever belongs to our earthly nature (3:5). Each day, therefore, we are actively attaching ourselves more and more to the risen Jesus and detaching ourselves from the way of the world. This is an ongoing daily process of soul (heart, mind, & body) transformation.
Jesus is not demanding perfection from us but commitment. We all know how easy it is to get distracted as we seek to follow Jesus! Just the other day Emmie was supposed to be “following me” as we went to pick up Lucy from school. But the snow mounds were simply too enticing to her. I had to constantly ask her to get back on the sidewalk and follow me. Lucy isn’t fond of us being late to pick her up!
My point? Like Emmie, we’re easily distracted. Our hearts and minds get enticed by things below, not above. The great news is that Jesus always calls us back. He’s not demanding perfection but commitment. Every day Jesus invites us to take up our own way to follow him. We can increasingly attach ourselves to him by pressing into the four core values of discipleship (below).
Our hope is that Bands and Table Communities can be spaces where we help each other grow in our commitment to follow Jesus.
Real Presence
Discipleship is about following Jesus.
Yes, I realize this may sound redundant after what I just wrote. But what does it actually mean to follow Jesus?
At the risk of getting myself into trouble… we do not follow Jesus’ teaching, his example, or his commands. We do not follow an ancient text or dead guru. We follow a real person! As we follow Jesus we have a teacher, can hear his commands, and can follow his example. Jesus promised to be with us always (Mt. 28:20), which is possible through the outpouring of his Spirit. Here are a few relevant passages:
Once when he (Jesus) was eating with them, he commanded them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before. John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 1:4-5)
And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.” (Gal. 4:6)
“If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.” (John 14:15-17)
This conviction shapes our practice of gathering and sending, which means we place a high emphasis and value on God’s presence. We want to gather expecting to meet with the risen Jesus. We don’t want to gather and talk about God, but gather with Jesus. We also want to leave our gatherings, as sent people, expecting to be led by his Spirit in everyday life.
Jesus is with us as we share stories around the table, participate in communion, laugh and cry, worship and pray together! Our goal is to slow down enough, not just in gatherings but all of life, so that we can grow in our awareness of his Spirit with us.
Way of Life
Following Jesus, if it hasn’t been obvious already, is a way of life. To follow Him we believe there are four core values of discipleship, or apprenticeship, to Jesus:
Seeking growth in our love God and neighbor.
Using practices as a means of grace.
Sharing fellowship with spiritual friends and family.
Engaging mission in everyday life.
All four core values are intimately connected to one another.
We use two key texts to unpack our core values. The first one:
“But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.” - 1 John 2:5-6
(1) Seeking Growth
An important principle of formation is that we are all becoming someone. In the passage above it says that we are to “live as Jesus did”. In other words, we are to become like Jesus. Paul says, “And we all… are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” The aim is ultimately to become someone who is filled, transformed, and overflowing with God’s love.
This is only possible by the Spirit, who transforms our thoughts, emotions, motivations, and desires to be like Christ Jesus. A person being transformed by God’s love is someone who is increasingly at peace, content, joyful, patient, resilient, trusting, faithful, etc.
Ultimately, our formation is not for ourselves but for others. As Robert Mulholland says, “Spiritual formation is the process of being conformed to the image of Christ for the sake of others.” Love, as Jesus defines it, always extends itself out to others. Love cannot be hoarded.
We become like Jesus as we seek growth in his love.
(2) Using Practices
We can only seek growth in God’s love as we “live in him”. Using practices are a means of grace. They are not an end in of themselves. They are a means that help us practice the presence of Jesus. John Wesley referred to the means of grace as Scripture reading, fasting, Sabbath, solitude, prayer, etc.
Whether we’re aware of it or not, we all engage in practices that shape and form the person we’re becoming. The easiest example of this running a marathon. If you want to run a marathon you have to intentionally train for the race. It’s nearly impossible to go from an inactive lifestyle one day to running a marathon the next. It takes intentionality and consistency to complete a marathon.
The same is true in our relationship with Jesus. We have to intentionally seek God in the means of grace, because it’s through these practices that our eyes and ears are opened to His presence.
We use spiritual practices to be with Jesus.
The second key text is:
“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.”
(3) Sharing Fellowship
We cannot follow Jesus alone. When we accept the call to follow Jesus we are welcomed into friendship and family (ie church). We learn how to listen to Jesus’ voice as we journey with others in the faith.
We gather with Jesus by having spiritual conversation with one another and allow his Spirit to breathe into our conversation. As Hebrews 10 states, “let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together” (10:24-25). We gather to encourage, support, and point one another to Jesus as his Spirit speaks through each one of us for the other. We all have a part to play!
Band and Table Community are spaces where we can learn how to listen to voice of Jesus and ultimately help us walk more deeply with Jesus, growing in his love and practicing his presence, in all of life.
We share fellowship to listen to the voice of Jesus.
(4) Engaging Mission
Following Jesus is exciting! The Spirit will move us out of our comfort zone to share God’s love with others. We can embrace a fearless posture because Jesus is always with us! There is nothing ultimately to worry about because we “shall never perish”.
God’s love will always extend itself. It cannot be hoarded and kept for oneself. We are all called to live on mission with Jesus and get caught up in his redemptive work in the world.
When we follow Jesus we’re invited into risky, and uncomfortable, situations. Isn’t that exactly what faith is? It moves us beyond our comfort and control. Jesus calls us to embody a fearless posture as we follow Him in everyday life. This could look like any number of things, like giving generously, praying for others healing, having spiritual conversation, casting out demons, inviting somone on the journey of discipleship, reconciling broken relationships, etc.
We engage in mission as we are led by the Spirit in everyday life.
Comentarios