The Road to True Discipleship

For better or worse, mankind experiences an overriding desire to avoid being alone in this world. With the exception of a small few who prefer to isolate themselves and live within themselves, the vast majority of people are moved to search out and develop companionship at some level. They are so driven by this desire that they will knowingly accept circumstances that are less than desirable and make the best of what they get in the process. Remember the analogy of soggy potato chips we discussed earlier in this book? This is the primary environment that this concept finds its fulfillment. The world teaches us to look for the most appealing and most popular people for our companionship. Outward appearances can never show us what is in the heart, and this is where God wants us to be discerning in what we do. The motives of a person are far more important in His eyes than outward beauty and appeal. This aspect is only skin-deep and fleeting at best. But sadly most people just take whatever comes along and end up limping through one failed relationship after another, never really knowing the bliss of a true and loving fellowship. The smallest percentage of the population will expect and demand excellence in everything in their lives and will settle for nothing less. The vast majority will just muck along in a continuous world of mediocrity taking whatever comes along and never really knowing that the possibilities are much greater than what they are willing to reach for. For most of these people, they expect little else. This is either done with a conscious choice, or these people are totally ignorant of these potential possibilities. Sadly many think that what they get in life is all they deserve. Why do we allow ourselves such dissatisfying relationships? Why do we continue in a less than perfectly loving relationship and do not make the investment and changes necessary to improve them by our own effort? Surely, if we go forth and systematically search out the ideal person for us, we will eventually find such a person to invest all our efforts in and then realize the happiness that we desire in a life of excellence. The answer to this can be found in the inherent proclivity of mankind to willingly take the first thing that avails itself and use it until it does not work anymore. Then we will search for something else, not letting go of what we have until we have the next acceptable thing firmly in our grasp. Until this takes place, we stoically continue on with a relentless conviction that what we now have is better than nothing at all. How pathetic is the human race in the pursuit of love and friendship, and how misinformed we are as to what it really is. For the vast majority of humanity, all they can envision for themselves conforms to what the world teaches them about love, and this is a sad state of affairs. And most unfortunate is our estimation of what relationships need to be.

It is only through the touch of God that we first start to realize love in its most basic form, and ultimately we start to understand the possibility of perfect love. Most often the concept will materialize into our consciousness as a new concept never before considered or explored only after we read much of the Word. As we read the Word, we pick up thoughts that open our eyes, and each subsequent experience makes the idea grow. We may happen upon the Song of Solomon and take a quantum leap forward in what we understand as the concept of love. Many will fall back upon the teachings of the world and read this great work and think, This is pie-in-the-sky thinking. True bliss is something for a very few people who are lucky enough to stumble upon it along the way of life. It is only through the guidance of the Holy Spirit that we start to comprehend the beauty of such a concept, and when taken as a whole in the teaching of God, it starts to grow over time. If we are diligent in our pursuit, we will finally come to a place where we can almost taste it.

Whether we recognize Him for who He is or not, the Holy Spirit will place the unction toward this possibility within us, and if we are receptive, it will begin to grow in our minds and infect our hearts. Ultimately it will not come to fruition until we fully understand the sacrifice that His Son gave for us, and then the unrestricted and all-encompassing love that He displayed in His passion will come forth with a clarity that will convict us in our own relationships and redefine what relationship is for us. The totality of what is freely and eagerly given in love is the true measure of its importance in the scheme of things in this life and in God’s economy. We must be willing to give every ounce of ourselves in the process and expect nothing in return for our love. This is what God expects and frankly demands of us. That is how much He is willing to give to us. This is the picture of what His will for our world represents to Him. Once this starts to sink into our brains, we must stop for a moment and catch our breath. Then we must decide if we want this thing that badly. If we cannot see this as wholly worth our effort, we will be committing an act of injustice to any person who is not deemed worth this kind of total surrender and submission.