This is part two of a three part series on Christian discipleship.
Last month we began a series on exercising our faith. That first article echoed St. James’ epistle by saying that any faith worthy of the name must be exercised in our ordinary lives. Having faith means following Jesus in how we think and in how we act in the contexts we inhabit every day.
To exercise means to implement, to put into action. Alternatively, to exercise means to work out, to keep fit. And that is just what I mean to say as well. Our faith is more than the opinions we hold. It is the actions we undertake. And as we act on our faith, our faith grows stronger and more mature.
To put my point another way, we are disciples of Jesus Christ. Discipleship is all about exercising our faith. Let’s continue now with a sketch of the Christian disciple’s life. What does it look like to exercise our faith?
Disciples are students. We are committed to a pattern of life-long learning. Every day offers a different opportunity to grow in our devotion to and love and knowledge of Jesus Christ.
This is why Christian Formation is a cornerstone of discipleship. In addition to devotional reading of the Bible, we will grow in our faith by dedicating ourselves to times of Bible study. Committing to a Sunday program of study at church (and beginning in the autumn attending our weekly Wednesday offerings) will give us more than cold knowledge about our Lord. It will deepen our living relationship with him.
Exercising our faith also means following a moral standard that Christ himself has set for us.
His teaching and his example command us to embody faith, hope and love. Taking up our Cross and following Jesus means that we will see ourselves first as servants of all. Jesus invites us to a life of complete surrender to God and genuine humility in relation to our Christian brothers and sisters.
Here are some additional character traits of Christian disciples:
• Repentance
• Forgiving slights, insults and injuries because we are forgiven
• Patience
• Perseverance
• Compassion and works of mercy on behalf of the poor, the dispossessed, and the oppressed
• Giving generously of our substance, setting the tithe as our minimum standard (and humbly admitting in many cases that we must work our way up to that standard).
This is not an exhaustive list of Christian virtues. Nevertheless, it serves to suggest a larger pattern of living to which we can all aspire.
It’s a life we can receive by habitually cooperating with God’s grace. We can’t do it alone. We can’t do it simply by trying harder. At the same time, we cannot live this sort of life without practice. It takes daily exercise.
Next month we will conclude this series by focusing on the ministry of all the Baptized.
