- the only one you can trust completely is Jesus Christ
- the only thing over which you have complete control is how much of your life you choose to trust to Jesus Christ
The bottom line of what discipleship is about is accepting and learning to live these two truths.
As great truths go, these two are straight-forward enough, but unpacking them will take some time. Unpacking them we must do, though, because they are foundational to all we think we know about living for the Kingdom.
It's easy to make a list of those people and institutions we don't always completely trust: the government, the boss, the media. At the same time, there are those we want to believe we can completely trust--our spouse, our significant other, our friends--and we count ourselves blessed if we can. The reality is, however, that all these people are still human, and because they are human they are broken, and because they are broken they can fail. Which means they can fail us. This isn't cynicism. It's the consequence of a fallen, sinful creation.
Jesus, on the other hand, will never fail us, will always be there for us, will always care for us.
We are control freaks. It isn't a question of if, only of how much. We like to believe that if we just work hard enough, hoard enough, hold on enough, that we can control just about everything that comes our way. But that's one of the great lies of the human condition. In the proverbial flash of an eye, everything we think we have, all the control we think we possess, can be taken away, and there's nothing we can do about it. Anything we think we can control, we can't.
Except this: we can control how much of our lives we choose to trust to Jesus.
Everything we do in the name of discipleship rises or falls on our willingness to trust Jesus with our lives.
How do you understand the relationship between trust in Jesus and discipleship?
The challenge that I feel as I read this blog entry is that while I get the concepts, I completely fail to get the reality. That is, as best as I can tell, I trust that Jesus knows my intentions and forgives my failures. I trust that he grieves at my pain, and celebrates my joy.
ReplyDeleteHowever, on a moment-to-moment basis, I don't get what it means to trust Him with my life. I methodically go about my daily tasks, trying to be responsible if a bit unimaginative. For my entire adult life I've wished for a sense of how best to use my life and talents, and have simply had to muddle along as best I can. Is this trust? I'd guess not, because I'm still left spiritually hungry and focused on material survival.
I appreciate the blog, now that I've made an opportunity to look at it. It's certainly showing me some blind spots.
You are asking a critical question, Brian. I believe you are absolutely right in saying Jesus knows your intentions, forgives your failures, grieves at your pain, and celebrates your joy. BUT...how do you give control of your life to Jesus and how does that result in satiating your spiritual hunger?
DeleteI have a couple of thoughts. First, the process of giving control of your life to Jesus begins with prayer--the daily asking of Jesus to help you let go of the need to control outcomes and trust that he will guide you. The letting go won't happen over night. It's an ongoing, oftentimes life-long back-and-forth of trusting Jesus when things are good, but taking back control when things aren't so good. Even Jesus' disciples struggled with this (Luke 17:5). That's why the asking has to be a daily discipline.
Second, cultivate a Scriptural ethic. The Gospel accounts of Jesus' life and teachings make it pretty clear how Jesus expects us to live (this, by the way, is the basis of the missional disciplines I'm writing about in the blog). I find that it's easier to trust Jesus with my life when I'm living my life as Jesus commands. Note I didn't say "easy." I said "easier." In a process I cannot claim to understand--I only know it to be true--a life lived in alignment with Jesus ethics is a life where the Holy Spirit seems to be able to impart a greater sense of peace and trust.
Lastly, trusting your life to Jesus doesn't mean giving up responsibility for yourself and your actions. Daily decisions still have to be made. My suggestion is this: as part of the same daily prayer where you ask Jesus to help you let go of the need to control, give any decisions you've made to Jesus and ask that if they are in line with his will, he bless them; if they're not, that he show you with a firm hand. Then you move forward. It's a reminder that you don't live only to yourself but to God, that God is always there, and that God is an active partner even in the most mundane tasks of your life. As you cultivate a mindfulness of that, it can be easier to give yourself over to the Lord.
How does this address your spiritual hunger? Most spiritual hunger, I believe, is hunger for tangible relationship with God. These suggestions are steps that direction. And as your trust in the Lord grows, you tend to focus less on material survival (you know the Lord will provide) and more on spiritual nurture.
Let me know if this helps.