Our challenge is to unselfconsciously give our lives away. In this generative discipleship phase our task is to pass it forward, hand it over, in a sense give it up and refuse to hold on to it. What is the “it” in that sentence? The “it ” is our ego, our sense of self in the best sense. We are still making a contribution but no longer looking to strengthen ourselves.
I ONCE SAID that we can always know whether or not we are on the path of discipleship or when we are about to make a drastic misstep. However, I learned from the author of Matthew that I was too quick to speak. I still stand by my conviction but found it's not exactly that simple; my truism definitely needs fine-tuning. I'll state it again with Matthew's proviso: We can discern whether we are obedient disciples when we view our lives through the sound eye of God's revelation accessible to us in Scripture and in
Luke 7, and its stories of Jesus' healing of the Centurion's servant and raising the widow's son, illustrate the ethic of compassion taught by Jesus in the previous chapter. Luke shows that Jesus doesn't buy into religious sensibilities; he lives by a different ethic, crossing barriers and pushing limits because he's listening to the voice of God. The Centurion's Story — Jesus Went with Them The Centurion's story illustrates how far Jesus will go in doing good. Appointed by Rome to oversee 80 to 100 soldiers, the Centurion was also a friend of the Jews as a benefactor of the
As his narrative turns from Jesus' healing & teaching ministry in the countryside of Galilee towards his long trek to Jerusalem in which he teaches his disciples about true discipleship, Luke is reminding his listeners that Jesus is no ordinary prophet. Luke is saying Jesus is not John the fiery preacher. Nor is he Moses the great law-giver or the larger-than-life prophet Elijah. Jesus, as Peter confesses first, is greater than all of these -- the very Messiah of God. He is the radiant Son of Man who has a profound connection to God. There is urgency to Luke's voice
Luke is a Gospel of Reassurance. It describesthe suffering of discipleship, that Christ is forming us, that we are called to be witnesses of redemption and forgiveness to the world and that we are called to participate, through listening to the Spirit, in the creation of the Kingdom. On Wednesday we began our look at the book of Luke, our focus for 2007. Luke is the best book for learning about discipleship and learning how to live in community. There are a number of different sources that will inform our study including commentaries from Darrell L. Bock (The NIV Application