The Cross and Our Discipleship

Monday, October 03, 2005

"When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die."
~Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship

"Becoming and being a christian involves a change so radical that no imagery can do justice but death and resurrection of Christ, namely, dying to the old life of self-indulgence and self-will, and rising to a new life of self-control and self-giving, in which the world has been crucified to us and we have been crucified to the world.

We glory in the cross for our discipleship.

...We human beings are born boasters. There seems to be something in our inherited constitution which inclines us to boasting. We seem to need to glory in something in order to inflate our ego. In consequence, we boast of our education, our possessions, our success, our reputation, even our piety. We find it hard to learn C. H. Spurgeon's dictum, 'Be not proud of race, face, place or grace.'

But in the last resort there is only one alternative before us. Either we glory in ourselves and in our own achievements, or we glory in Christ and his achievement on the cross. There is no possibility of compromise. A hallmark of authentic evangelical Christianity is that we glory only in the cross."
~John Stott, The Evangelical Truth


Yes, we glory only in the cross... that cross which meant glory in humiliation, life in death, victory in life! There is no other way... the path of the cross to life, the path of humility to glory!

Only Jesus can afford death because he is life!

Can this be simply a matter of perspective?

We finally had our first training day at DBD yesterday. It was a very challenging time for us in the team facing these mixed group of young students and their teachers (aka youth workers)... It was also exhausting being there with them the whole day - for the morning worship time and the whole afternoon training.

But beyond those seeming 'whinings' ;-)... I was encouraged by the Word which never ceases to pierce my heart and mind to keep going and being like Christ. We talked about the costly discipleship of Jesus which is the only one he talked about during his short stint here, thousands of years ago. Why would it need to be costly? Why would it has to be that way and no other? Why and why?

Why can't it be not the way of victory and mass evangelization in three years? Why would it has to be with and through the 12 men whom he chose? Yes, those 12 men who are very different from each other. Those 12 ordinary men like you and me?

Costly... homelessness, rejection, suffering. Servanthood... the bucket and the towel, the lowliest form of service.

"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me..." (Mark 8:34)

Cross, death to self, obedience without delay, commitment for life, no turning back when the going gets tough...

Love. Fruitfulness. Obedience.
Such love for the unloveable and the enemies. Such fruitfulness for the glory of the Father. Such obedience at all costs.

Syempre, di pwedeng mag-end ang training without the bucket and the towel. Salamat sa mga feet na nagpahugas! It was such one life-changing chapter of this journey called life, with them.

I am deeply honored and forever be grateful. I do not regret choosing this path called istafwork ;-).