A lot of times I try to figure out how ‘all the stuff fits together’ in life. I rather enjoy putting things together: legos, puzzles, furniture, systems, processes, etc. Though I am very relational in nature, I still like know how things “fit together.” One of the biggest challenges I have faced in my years of ministry is understanding how all the ‘stuff in the Bible’ fits together into a master scheme that God is weaving in and out of our lives and our world. I am not arrogant enough to think that I can figure it all out all the time. God has revealed to us all that we need to know about our world and the nature of life. However, there is more out there that He is not revealed to us. He is bigger and more majestic than we even know. The universe is more complex than we have ever discovered. There are some things that we can figure out how they work. So recently I was thinking about the integration of the “Kingdom Disciples” curriculum by Tony Evans we are using in the Men’s Ministry Studies on Wednesday’s and the Sermon on the Mount material we are covering on Sundays.
The simple, yet complex, idea of being a disciple of Christ is challenging to our hearts. Tony defines a disciple as ‘a Christian who is progressively participating in the process of learning what it is to live all of life under the lordship, rulership, and kingship of Jesus Christ’. It is a daily relationship with Jesus that increasingly transforms us to be more like Him. Then that transformation unfolds into a reality of the way we live. The substance of that sort of transformed life is in many ways described in what Jesus said during the Sermon on the Mount. We are well aware that we don’t live out the qualities of the Sermon on the Mount perfectly, but those qualities do build and and enhance a beautiful foundation for living well. These are the qualities of a disciple. These are the qualities of a fully devoted follower of Christ. These are the qualities that set us apart from the worldly system that degrades and demeans life. These are the qualities that the Lord wants to have capture our minds and souls. These are the qualities on which we can build a life that is useful, fruitful and stable.
I love to figure out how things fit together. I love seeing that being a disciple of Christ has deep, substantive and beautiful qualities that actually are impossible to live out on our own. We need Him to live them out through us by the power of His indwelling Spirit. I love this stuff… don’t you?
Your bro,
Kevin