![]() ![]() As we age, the default line shifts a second time. This is the substance and focus of the book.ģ) Radical Discipleship: The struggle to give our deaths away. anthropological and spiritual task will be clear: How do I give my life away more purely and more generously?” (page 18). “The struggle for self-identity and private fulfillment never fully goes away we are always somewhat haunted by the restlessness of our youth and our own idiosyncratic needs…. The transition from young adult to responsible parent typifies the entry into this stage of life. This covers the majority of adult life, and begins when we become “more fundamentally concerned with life beyond us than with ourselves” (). “Who am I? Where do I find meaning? Who will love me? How do I find love in a world full of infidelity and false promises” (page 17)? We are familiar with these things.Ģ) Mature Discipleship: The struggle to give our lives away. It’s for when we are searching, “for an identity… for acceptance… for a circle of friends… for intimacy… for someone to marry… for a vocation… for a career… for the right place to live… for financial security… for something to give us substance and meaning – in a word, searching for a home” (page 16, emphasis mine). This is the youth-oriented form of discipleship with which we are familiar. He identifies three stages of discipleship in our walk through life:ġ) Essential Discipleship: The struggle to get our lives together. This is where we need the sort of wisdom Ronald Rolheiser offers in Sacred Fire. Our forms of discipleship are youth-shaped, even as we hit our middle age. And we do the same with our churches: we place our communities on an horizon of opportunities, articulate some mission action goals and motion for them to launch forth like the youth we once were. We take our sermons and channel our inner youth: fan your passion into flame, live life for Jesus! We mentor others by setting and pursuing goals, just like we did when the vista was young and wide. And the discipleship that once formed us no longer fits as easily. We all grow out of our youth and into our adult seasons. So push into Jesus, equip yourself with his Word, become familiar with his Spirit, find healing for childhood hurts, and launch forth! “I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one” (1 John 2:13). They don’t fully realise their sheer potential. ![]() Three of my four children are now, officially, young adults, and I want something similar for them. It was about learning our gifts, keeping pure, and pursuing Jesus for the life that lay stretched out before us. We wanted to know God’s plan for our life. Like many life-long Christians, my formative years were shaped by speakers and writers fanning the flames of zeal and purpose.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |