Monday, January 28, 2008
Faith v Discipleship
Milt Stanley quotes Kingdom Living quoting Bonhoeffer. The take away quote, Milt's too:
Christianity is radical stuff, very radical stuff. Some may think this analogy out of place, but it seems most appropriate to me. Many nations sell beer with much higher alcohol content than out nation. Something I did not know until I actually went overseas.
My first ever trip was to the People's Republic of China. I stayed in a hotel full of people from the west and that first night there was a bar-b-que on the roof of the building, complete with Chinese beer. I grabbed a cold one and drank it as if I was at home here in America. Two bottles later, I needed a chair. I looked at one of my hosts and said, "I think the jet-lag is getting to me." They looked at the can in my hand and asked how many. I told them and they went and got me the chair.
Anyway, my point is this - why doesn't the church hit people that hard and that unexpectedly? How come people are not surprised by what hits them when they enter the church?
The answer, of course, is simple. We sell faith, not discipleship because, not unlike the Chinese beer, discipleship comes at a cost. But it is so cheap, and so valuable. Unlike the Chinese beer, the cost disappears in the splendor of that which was purchased.
But then, of course, we would have to have experienced that splendor ourselves.
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Faith comes standing at the cross, discipleship comes on it.I am reminded once again of how little the church generally offers, and why we do so. Christ called us to "take up our cross," and we call people to a comfortable pew. Christ called us to sell all our possessions, we call people make sure and send in their pledge.
Christianity is radical stuff, very radical stuff. Some may think this analogy out of place, but it seems most appropriate to me. Many nations sell beer with much higher alcohol content than out nation. Something I did not know until I actually went overseas.
My first ever trip was to the People's Republic of China. I stayed in a hotel full of people from the west and that first night there was a bar-b-que on the roof of the building, complete with Chinese beer. I grabbed a cold one and drank it as if I was at home here in America. Two bottles later, I needed a chair. I looked at one of my hosts and said, "I think the jet-lag is getting to me." They looked at the can in my hand and asked how many. I told them and they went and got me the chair.
Anyway, my point is this - why doesn't the church hit people that hard and that unexpectedly? How come people are not surprised by what hits them when they enter the church?
The answer, of course, is simple. We sell faith, not discipleship because, not unlike the Chinese beer, discipleship comes at a cost. But it is so cheap, and so valuable. Unlike the Chinese beer, the cost disappears in the splendor of that which was purchased.
But then, of course, we would have to have experienced that splendor ourselves.
Technorati Tags:discipleship, faith, bonhoeffer, cost
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