Community Updates from Dr. Bob: 10/18/2023
I love seeing the candles lit on Monday nights as disciples of Jesus gather together and talk around tables at our Discipleship Lab. I am continually encouraged by seeing people of all ages devoted to following Jesus and figuring out what that means for their lives.
We are seeing a significant core of people, including our youth, who are really engaging in their discipleship. They desire to see their service—and their lives—flow out of the abundance of their relationship with God. That desire is like what the poet Rainer Maria Rilke wrote:
May what I do flow from me like a river,
no forcing and no holding back,
the way it is with children.
Then in these swelling and ebbing currents,
these deepening tides moving out, returning,
I will sing you as no one ever has,
streaming through widening channels
into the open sea.
–from I believe in all that has never yet been spoken
That’s how we hope it will be with us: “No forcing and no holding back / the way it is with children.” May God’s love spring forth from us as an overflowing river. If you have experienced this, you know what I mean. If you have not, I challenge you to join with us as we pursue together what it really means to be disciples of Jesus. This is not something we need to try to force. God is at work and we are the responders… if we are open to what he is doing. When we are open, we can take that step out in faith, blessing others and changing us at the same time.
Discipleship doesn’t need to be complicated, and we don’t need to be perfect. Pastor Brett shared a great story about encouraging their daughters every day before school to be kind and to be courageous. And then, after school, asking, “How were you able to be kind?” and then “In what ways did you act with courage today?” In taking one step at a time, day by day, discerning the voice of God, we become people who have a real connection with Jesus and imitate him. And together, we become the kind of church that demonstrates Jesus’ heart.
We already know much of what Jesus has called us to do. It’s simple. It’s not easy, but it’s simple. Jesus invites us into his mission. And as we join with him, we grow. That kind of life is compelling, so let’s continue to lean into it together. Pray together with me that we would become the kind of people who reflect the character of Jesus and join in the mission of Jesus. In so doing, we will receive his abundance and have that to share that with others:
The threshing floors will be filled with grain;
the vats will overflow with new wine and oil. (Joel 2:24)
