In this module, we begin to teach people to listen to Scripture more meditatively.
This is an important accent throughout all the modules. Without it, it is almost impossible to learn to discern what God is doing. We also address a number of core issues that are especially important when one is still at the beginning of your spiritual journey. We are now talking about the "beginning of the journey", but our experience is that there are many of our members who have been children of God for many years, but in terms of their spiritual journey they have always been at the beginning.
The reason for this is usually precisely because the process of discipleship or spiritual guidance has so far been lacking in their lives. This module, therefore, deals with about getting rid of masks in your spiritual life, dealing with hurtful events from your past, saturating our thirst for happiness and peace.
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Introduction
Prior to the Reformation, one of the very effective ways of discipling that
the church developed was the process of spiritual direction. Sadly much of the wisdom that the church acquired in this way, was gradually lost. Presently there is a rediscovery of the value that spiritual direction has, and as a result, spiritual directors are once again being trained in
churches.
The point of departure within the process of spiritual direction is that God is on a journey with every person. It is not mere coincidence that we happen to be where we are. On this journey God is at work in our lives trying to clarify what His will is for our lives. It is through spiritual direction that people are directed to learn to discern what God is doing in their lives. The art of discipleship, as I see it, is nothing other than precisely this, to learn to distinguish what God is doing in your life. The one message that stands out very strongly throughout the entire Bible is that it is on God's heart to be a God to us; and that He desires us to be His obedient children. In my understanding of it, it is nothing but a discipleship relationship. He is God (the Teacher) and we are his children (pupils or disciples).
With these modules of discipleship, I want to guide fellow believers to develop this art of seeing and discerning what God is doing in their lives. Once people learn to do this, life begins to make more sense and people are able to better understand not only themselves but the role that they have on earth as well. To arrive at this point, it is of course crucial to have a living relationship with God the Father every day; the kind of relationship in and through which I increasingly come to know and experience the love of the Father, His goodness, His grace, His care, His
nurturing, His comfort, His involvement in my life and His guidance.
This relationship commences when I respond to the invitation that Jesus
extends: “Follow me”. As with His first disciples, I am invited to walk with Him. His first disciples responded to this calling by literally leaving everything and simply going with Him. During this time they did not do a lot for Him. They simply followed Him wherever He went. While doing it, they observed Him, listened to Him, and learnt from Him, got to know Him, spent time with Him, spoke to Him, looked at what He did and how He did it. In this way they were “trained” to become like Him, having the same values and convictions. After almost three years of training Jesus sent them out to, in turn, make disciples of others or, put differently, to direct others to live in the same manner.
I believe with all my heart that the road of Discipleship follows the same
route even today. When we begin to follow Him, we must at first just follow, listen, watch, observe, converse, spend time and learn and learn and learn yet again. We must simply just be with Him, come to know Him and admire Him, learn to think like him, how He sees people, how He views the world, what His values and convictions are, so that we too can make these our own. It is the only way we are going to be able to discern what God is doing and what He is doing in each of our lives. To think that
the Christian life is only about me getting the assurance that I will "go to
heaven one day" and for the rest I can just go on with my life as I see fit, is a very big misconception of God's intention for us here on earth.
Therefore it is important to understand that Jesus calls all His children to live a life of discipleship, of following and of obedience. It should be clear from the outset that discipleship is not merely a course, but that it is a way of living that requires a high level of commitment. If Jesus calls people to follow Him as His disciples, He instructs them to take up their cross (dying to self-interest), to deny themselves and to follow Him. For the person who does this, a new way of living awaits him or her; a way of life that Jesus came to demonstrate to us; a life that is lived in an intimate relationship with the Father. For this reason we then also take the life of Jesus as it is portrayed in the gospel of John as the point of departure for the life of a disciple.
From this it should be clear why we appeal to those who are interested in
embarking on the journey of Discipleship, to make a commitment. It is a journey that is intended for those who have counted the cost and decided that there is nothing more important. Those who make this choice can anticipate a more meaningful way of living and intense spiritual growth and fulfilment. In the Word there are two promises in par-cular that are fulfilled i.e.:
• “You will seek me and find me if you seek me with all your heart.”
(Jer. 29:13)
• “Come near to God and He will come near to you.” (James 4:8)
Taking this journey on with other believers:
I strongly recommend that you don't just read through or work through
this material. Discipleship is a road that one travels with other believers.
Gather a few friends and do it together as a group. God is going to teach you so much more through what you share with one another than what you could ever learn by yourself. After you've completed this process,
find two or three others while you act as the group leader. It has been the experience of most of our group leaders that when they do it the second time, when acting as group leaders, it is much more valuable than
the first time.
I realise there are people who don't like being in small groups and talking
openly about their lives. If you are one of those people, there is nothing
stopping you from working through the material on your own.
My prayer is that everything we share with you, will lead you into a new and fresh way of intimate communion with God. Discipleship is the beginning of a never-ending process. If you apply everything we discuss, you will be embarking on a process that will never end on this earth. The material is only meant to set you onto this road. Again, Discipleship is a life-long process. How will we ever reach a point on this earth where we can say: "I now know God through and through, I have nothing more to learn."? To be a disciple means to be seated at the feet of Jesus our Teacher, every day.
It just never stops!
