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Walking Out What You Believe
Recently I wrote an article on discipleship, the emphasis of that article was not so much on how to live our lives as disciples of Jesus as on how to disciple one another. I would like to continue this conversation by focusing on what a disciple of Jesus should look like. When people walk up to us, should they be able to have the sense that there is something that is different in us, or are we just supposed to blend in with the rest of society? The whole concept that so many of us struggle with in learning is how to match up what we believe in the inside with what we do on the outside.
However, I first want to discuss a key aspect of being a disciple of Jesus, and that is how to dwell in His presence. The idea of abiding and remaining in Him is found throughout John’s writings. It is important, if I want to be a true disciple of Jesus, that I learn how to rely on Him in everything I do. The problem is figuring out how to do that. I am as guilty as anyone else of good intentions. I wake up every morning and pray asking that I would only remain in Him throughout my day. But usually that only works until I get to the front door if even that far, and I find Him nowhere. I desire more than anything to put Him first in my life and to rely on Him solely. But why is it that I find that most decisions, whether big or small, I usually make without consulting Him first? Is it possible that Jesus could be blamed for this? Did I not get the prayer right or do the proper ritual? Or is there something missing in my life? I want to be very clear from the beginning that this is something that I have in no way mastered. I would like to state that I am a seeker, a disciple of Jesus who longs for the ability to be able to be in His presence throughout my day. There is so much joy and freedom that can be found in being able to dwell in His presence, but I have to admit that I believe as long as we are dwelling here on earth, this side of the Promised Land, it will be a continual struggle.
In the Old Testament, the Lord was known to dwell among the people of Israel. In Exodus 29:46 God states, "They will know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of Egypt so that I might dwell among them. I am the Lord their God." The Lord did not live so much in the people’s hearts, but rather He was known to dwell in the temple or in the tent as in Moses’ day. As it says in Psalm 122:1, "Let us go to the house of the Lord." God dealt not so much with individuals as with the nation of Israel. It is important to note that even the concepts of sin and repentance were more on a corporate level. The change of God being in our hearts was prophesied by Jeremiah and then later fulfilled in God’s promised Messiah, Jesus Christ. Jeremiah 31 says, "This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel…I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people."
It must have been quite a stir for the Jews in Jesus’ day as He preached and taught as it is found in His inaugural address found in Luke 4:14-30, when He stands before His hometown and reads from the book of Isaiah proclaiming that He is the fulfillment of all they ever hoped for. The people of His hometown were so enthused that they tried to take Him out of town only to stone Him. I wish I could have been present to see that event take place. Jesus’ whole public ministry was a demonstration of how He came and turned upside down everything they had ever believed.
I believe the most radical concept that Jesus proclaimed can be found in John 15, which speaks about the vine and the branches. There is neither need nor time for an elaborate exegesis on this passage, but the basic concept is important here. That concept is the whole idea of remaining in Him or of abiding in Him, which is mentioned nine times in just this chapter. Jesus basically lays out the whole foundational truth of how we are to live our lives with His being in charge. He begins with explaining the key job duties of both Him and His father in verse 1 by saying, "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener." It is our job to remain in Jesus, and it is the Father’s duty to prune and take care of us to better be able to bear fruit. There is much benefit that can only be found as we remain in Him: we will be able to bear fruit, and not just a little fruit but a lot of fruit. We have the privilege of asking for whatever we want and the assurance of being able to receive it. We are able to experience the love, joy, and glory of the Father, and we can be called Jesus’ friends. In this passage, it is also clear what will happen if we do not remain in him: we will be pruned and thrown into the fire, we will not be able to produce fruit, and we will not be able to experience the love, joy, and glory of the Father.
As we read John 15, we all tend to be filled with excitement, maybe even anticipation to imagine living a life of hanging out with Jesus on the vine. But how realistic is it really? All the attempts I have made have usually fallen short and were short-lived. Is this idea found in John 15 just a lofty idea that is too hard for us to be able to live out in our everyday lives? We must hold on to the truth "what is impossible for man is possible with God" (Luke 18:27). In my own life, I have found that learning how to remain in Him, or abide in Him or to practice His presence can only be accomplished in his strength and also with much perseverance and discipline.
I would like to close this section with an excerpt for a book by Mario Bergner called Setting Love in Order. He does an excellent job describing how he learned to develop this habit in his own life. "The power of the great truth, ‘Christ in you, the hope of glory’ (Colossians 1:27), became a tangible reality in me a few months after I received that life-changing infilling of the Holy Spirit. I was by this time in the habit of beginning every day by setting my eyes on God through Scripture reading and prayer…. I would call to mind the holy name of Jesus as often as possible. First, I decided to call on His name at least once each hour of the day. Gradually I would increase to once every half hour, then to every fifteen minutes, then to calling on Him every minute. Of course I failed miserably at the beginning, sometimes with hours going by without thinking of it. Then I would simply begin again, making sure not to inflict any false guilt on myself for not doing it. After a while, I found if I forgot to practice God’s presence, I would be reminded by the Spirit within me to do so. On many a morning I would awake and hear the Spirit calling on the name of Jesus from within me. Soon I noticed that whenever my thoughts would wander, they would wander toward Him. As I purposefully practiced the presence of God by looking up and out of myself and calling to mind the name of Jesus as often as possible, I began to notice the beauty of the world around me." This is quite a radical challenge to all of us. We must keep in mind that in order for us to be able to faithfully remain in Him, it will take hard work and discipline, but this is something I see having far more value than anything I could imagine. I would like to challenge myself and everyone else to begin to learn how to start calling out the name of Jesus minute by minute throughout our day.
Let us now go back to the concept of being disciples of Jesus. One of the greatest benefits of remaining in Him is that we will bear much fruit; however, the question needs to be raised as to how we should be living this out in our daily lives. In my daily walk as a believer, should my lifestyle reflect something radically different from the non-believers around me, or should I just be able to blend in with the crowd? I believe that this is an important question in this day and age when our culture’s value system maintains the concept of everything is permissible as long as it does not cause harm to others. I would like, in the next few paragraphs, to offer some suggestions and some challenges. I would like it to continue to be held in mind that I am not trying to promote or condone anyone’s behavior; I am only presenting what I understand to be truth. The only one who is truly capable of convicting actions is the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. So I would also like to challenge each of us if we do find ourselves feeling convicted to weigh ourselves to the truth and pray and make the necessary changes.
According to George Barna in his book The Second Coming of the Church, "we have repositioned spirituality. Faith used to revolve around God and His ordinances and principles; the faith that arrests our attention these days is that which revolves around us. We have demystified God, befriended Jesus, abandoned the Holy Spirit, and forgiven and even warmed up to Satan. Few Americans possess a sense of awe, fear, or trembling related to God. …Most Christians have fallen prey to the same disease as their worldly counterparts. We think and behave no differently from anyone else." It is interesting to note the increasing similarity in behavioral patterns that is found between Christians and non-Christians. It is no wonder that more and more non-believers are dismayed by our attempts at evangelism. It is important to understand that our efforts fail because we have nothing of substantial significance to really offer them. Barna goes on to explain why we struggle with this: "fewer than 10% of Christians actually possess a biblical worldview, a perceptual filter through which they see life and its opportunities. Lacking that filter, most Christians make important decisions on the basis of instinct, emotion, and assumptions, past experience, external pressure, or chance. The spirituality is Christian in name only. We desire experience more than knowledge. We prefer choices to absolutes. We embrace preferences rather than truths. We seek comfort rather than growth. Faith must come on our terms or we reject it."
The question needs to be raised as to what our Biblical worldview should be. "Our world view impacts every aspect of our lives – how we spend our time and money, how we interact with other people in public and private, how we order our priorities, and even how we perceive God." I would like to return to an author from the last article: Dallas Willard. In The Divine Conspiracy, he states the principle of discipleship this way: "Life in the kingdom is not just a matter of not doing what is wrong. The apprentices of Jesus are primarily occupied with the positive good that can be done during their days under the son and the positive strengths and virtues that they develop in themselves as they grow toward ‘the kingdom prepared for them from the foundations of the world’ (Matthew 25:34). What they, and God, get out of their lifetime is chiefly the person they become."
First, and foremost, our worldview should be based on God’s word. Paul, in the letter to the Colossians, gives us a great practical understanding of what behaviors are of God and which are not. He begins very abruptly in Colossians 3:5 by saying, "Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry." He then goes on to describe the character traits that are not godly that we should also be rid of: "anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language." He also encourages us not to lie to one another. The best part of Colossians 3 is that he then shares with us what our lives should look like as disciples of Christ and God’s chosen people. "Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him" (3:12-17).
It is important to keep in mind that it is impossible for us, no matter how great the wish or the desire to be able to life this out perfectly in our day to day lives. God is calling us back to our first love, where He is first and foremost in our lives. In doing this it will affect us internally and externally as we begin to weigh and measure our every thought and action against the grid of the life and teachings of Jesus. We constantly need to remind ourselves to practice the presence of Jesus, and we need to question our external motives as to whether this behavior conveys a radical lifestyle that would encourage believers and nonbelievers to want to stop and ask, "What’s different about you?" Most importantly, this radical lifestyle needs to be lived out in every area of our lives, or else we might become dry, withered branches that need to be cut, pruned, and discarded. We should also encourage and hold each other accountable.
Materials used
George Barna, The Second Coming of the Church
Mario Bergner, Setting Love in Order
Dallas Willard, Divine Conspiracy
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