About once a month or so, I’ve wanted to write a post about where I am with my relationship with all things God, religion, or church. It’s been such a sweet time of reflection and I’m thankful for you guys reading through that monthly post. You can read the previous ones if you’ve missed any in that series (My Generous Giver Initiator, Creator, Rescue, Savior, Church, Redeemer, and Tension). I call it a series, but they’re really sporadic and really only related because of the idea.
When I transferred colleges after my freshman year, I was pretty excited to realize that my new major was the one with the least amount of course requirements to graduate. As much as I love being a student still today, I can’t go back to a classroom. I’ve never learned well in one and always felt trapped. So I took the couple of transfer credits I had and graduated three years later; as fast as I possibly could. I was done with the classroom. However, the lessons haven’t stopped coming.
I still love studying and listening to people that are smarter than me talk about subjects they know. I think that I will always remain a student, because there’s still so much to learn. I sat in yesterday as two guys played an ESPN trivia game that blew my mind. They not only knew the answers, but added extra trivia facts to take the questions a little deeper. I was just fascinated. However, I know there’s one teacher that I can never get enough of despite how difficult the teachings may be. That’s my rabbi.
This morning I made the mistake of reading the passage in Luke 14 that talks about the cost of discipleship. With all the “hate your family” and “take up your cross” comments, it’s not a passage you read for an inspirational pick me up. Discipleship is a tough pill to swallow and while it’s the most difficult calling we can answer, it’s the one that’s most ignored. In the margin of my Bible I have the quote, “Getting married is the easy commitment, the 50 years that follow make you husband and wife.” It’s no coincidence that Jesus used the picture of husband and wife to explain his relationship with the church. The question is, am I ready to take on that next step?
Salvation costs us nothing, it’s the free gift from God, and it comes on the spot. Discipleship costs us everything, it’s our choice to step into, and it takes a life time. We’re often satisfied with our salvation and our “get out of jail free” card that we never respond to the call of discipleship. We let the ministers, missionaries, and zealots answer that. We’ll just be the missionary to our workplace (which is also a great calling, but can honestly be a cop-out for most people to not answer the true calling on their life). Don’t settle.
Now Luke 14 says that if we don’t hate our families and our own life, we cannot be His disciple. The Bible also says to honor our parents, cherish and love our spouse, and take care of our brothers and sisters. What this passage means to me is that while I will NEVER hate my parents, my wife to be, my brother, or any of my friends, if they ever make my choose between God and them, they will lose. The hard truth is that while I treasure and cherish their love, it can never compare to the God I serve, and that’s a truth worth dying for and living for.
Whether or not I recognize it, each day I step into a classroom. Sometimes I sleep through class or just doodle in my notebook, but everyday I have the chance to learn and grow. Each day I’m tested. Each day I’m taught. Somedays it’s just a matter of whether or not I want to listen. I love to learn, but that doesn’t make this classroom any easier. I’m at a point where learning costs everything and I have to decide if that price is reasonable. My rabbi is willing to teach, I just have to decide if I’m willing to listen and act.
