Saturday, February 16, 2013

The Cost of Discipleship Pt 3 Excerpts & Thoughts


More from the book 'The Cost of Discipleship' By Dietrich Bonheoffer.

Continuing on with our study of our Treasures in Heaven, Not Earth as well as Being Anxious for Nothing.

Bonheoffer goes on to say, quoting Luther: '"Now mark ye, no beast worketh for his sustenance, but each hath his proper function, according to which he seeketh and findeth his own food. The bird doth fly and sing, she maketh nests and beareth young. That is her work, but yet she doth not nourish herself thereby. Oxen plough, horses draw carts and fight, sheep give wool, milk, and cheese, for it is their function so to do. But they do not nurture themselves thereby. Nay, the earth bringeth forth grass, and nurtureth them through God's blessing. Likewise it is man's bounden duty to work and do things, and yet withal to know that it is Another who nurtureth him: it is not his own work, but the bounteous blessing of God. It is true that the bird doth neither sow nor reap, yet would she die of hunger if she flew not in search of food. But that she fineth the same is not her work, but the goodness of God. For who put the food there, that she might find it? For where God hath put nought, none findeth, even though the whole world were to work itself to death in search thereof."' 

And Bonheoffer expounds:  'But if the Creator thus sustains the birds and lilies, should he not much more as a Father nourish his own children, who daily pray to him? Should he not be able to grant them the necessities of life, when all earthly goods belong to him, and when he can distribute them according to his pleasure?

Anxiety is characteristic of the Gentiles, for they rely on their own strength and work instead of relying on God. They do not know that the Father knows that we have need of all these things, and so they try to do for themselves what they do not expect from God. But the disciples know that the rule is "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." Anxiety for food and clothing is clearly not the same thing as anxiety for the kingdom of God, however much we should like to persuade ourselves that when we are working for our families and concerning ourselves with bread and houses we are thereby building the kingdom, as though the kingdom could be realized only through our worldly cares. The kingdom of God and his righteousness are sharply distinguished from the gifts of the world which come our way. That kingdom is none other than the righteousness of Matt. 5 and 6, the righteousness of the cross and of following Christ beneath that cross. Fellowship with Jesus and obedience to his commandment come first, and all else follows. Worldly cares are not a part of our discipleship, but distinct and subordinate concerns. Before we start taking thought for our life, our food and clothing, our work and families, we must seek the righteousness of Christ. This is no more than an ultimate summing up of all that has been said before. Again we have here either a crushing burden, which holds out no hope for the poor and wretched, or else it is the quintessence of the gospel, which brings the promise of freedom and perfect joy. Jesus does not tell us what we ought to do but cannot; he tells us what God has given us and promises still to give. If Christ has given us, if we are called to his discipleship we are given all things, literally all things. He will see to it that they are added unto us. If we follow Jesus and look only to his righteousness, we are in his hands and under the protection of him and his Father. And if we are in communion with the Father, nought can harm us. We shall always be assured that he can feed his children and will not suffer them to hunger. God will help us in the hour of need, and he knows our needs.

After he has been following Christ for a long time, the disciple of Jesus will be asked "Lacked ye anything?" and he will answer "Nothing, Lord." How could he when he knows that DESPITE HUNGER, and NAKEDNESS, PERSECUTION and DANGER, the LORD is always at his side?'

*

My take:

I love the last bit because it is such TRUTH! 

Lacked ye anything? Nothing Lord.  How could he... how can WE say we lack ANYTHING when Jesus is at our side?  If we can say we lacked anything then we are in essence saying that Jesus and His Righteousness are NOT everything we need, that HIM first is NOT paramount, that our Savior is NOT enough!

Seek FIRST, not seek only, but seek FIRST the kingdom of God and HIS righteousness.

Mat_6:33  But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

And they'll be added unto us according as our Savior knows our need. If our need is to suffer hunger and cold, to suffer being poor and be persecuted then Christ KNOWS this and we will hunger and we will be cold, and we will be poor and we will be persecuted all to HIS GLORY and it will be for reasons we might not have a clue about.

I was relating to my daughter an experience I had many years ago, something I'd forgotten.  I'd been persecuted, bullied, name called (as an adult not a child) and the result was my emotional devastation. That emotional devastation led to my returning to the Lord and not only me but the Holy Spirit guiding one of my sister to Him as well.  I had NO clue at the time I was being emotionally tortured that the result would be so amazing, but now years later I can look back and see the Hand of God working in my life, all GLORY TO HIM! 

We can't know why our suffering, why our trials come, but our God is enough to see us through it all.

God FIRST, God's kingdom FIRST, and all else later.

We who do profess to believe in Christ as our very real Savior have to truly comprehend that we do rely on CHRIST for all things, and all glory belongs to Him whether or not we are experiencing goodness or trials. Truly those who are suffering can believe in Christ and His teachings. Even as they suffer they KNOW that Christ must come first, and HE really is ENOUGH. If we suffer unto death- it won't be because our Savior couldn't save us, but because He did SAVE US and His ways are far beyond ours.  If we can't realize our place in the grand scheme of things, that we are the creature with VERY limited comprehensions on the ways of God, then we are guilty of putting ourselves on level with God and wanting to be like the Most High, the very thing that Satan is guilty of.  We might suffer in many ways and through it all we must know that Christ loves us, has always loved us, and will always love us even to the end of the world, and into eternity with HIM.

Is the Kingdom of God real to us?! If it is then we can have faith in God that His will in our lives is DONE, no matter what we must endure.

All by HIS GRACE, HIS LOVE, HIS MERCY, HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS, HIS FORGIVENESS!



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