The Established Path of Discipleship

This morning, I was stirred as I often am by the gentle whine of my Yorkie. I put him in bed with us, hoping for a few more minutes of sleep. Additional sleep evaded me as my mind wakened and focused on the phrase “moments of clarity.” First, I tried to avoid thinking (a fruitless exercise) and will my body to sleep (another futile exercise). So, I surrendered to the thought, moments of clarity.

We live in a world that lacks moral clarity. The Bible, of course, provides moral clarity. So, what do I need clarity on? There is an interesting passage in 2 Timothy where Paul is giving Timothy some instruction:

You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, 2 and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also. 3 Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. 5 An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. 6 It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. 7 Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything (2 Tim. 2:1-7).

This passage reads like marching orders. My Bible entitles this section “A Good Soldier of Christ Jesus.” Paul uses a soldier metaphor and a farmer metaphor to communicate the suffering and hard work required to make disciples.

So, what does this passage have to do with clarity or lack thereof? Look again at verse 7. “Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.” After intense marching orders, Paul effectively says, “Think about this because God will give you understanding in everything.” In other words, God will give you moments of clarity. In Timothy’s case, God would provide him with clarity on what lay before him.

We must understand that moments of clarity will not come unless we think. We are impatient and would rather God speak audibly to us or give us a vision or a dream. We keep looking for the spectacular and avoid God’s ordinary means: praying, reading the Scripture, and thinking about what God said. God does not want to bypass our minds; he wants to renew our minds (Rom. 12:2). As we think over what God has said, he will give us the right number of moments of clarity needed to make disciples while we are passing through this confusing, morally ambiguous land of exile in which we live.