Let me count the ways

Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote one of the English language’s most powerful love poems. It begins:

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

I love thee to the depth and breadth and height

My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight . . .

And it ends

With my lost saints—I love thee with the breath,

Smiles, tears, of all my life! - and, if God choose,

I shall but love thee better after death.

Browning’s powerful poem wasn’t the first to count love’s ways. The first was David, who a thousand years before Jesus, set down a list in Psalm 103 of ways in which God loves you and me. And his list is far more specific, far more extensive, and far more wonderful than Browning’s.

How does God love us?

He forgives our sins and heals our diseases [v3].

He preserves our life and crowns us with love and compassion [v4].

He satisfies our desires with good things [v5].

He works justice for the oppressed [v6].

He made known His ways to Moses and revealed Himself in history’s mighty acts [v7].

And the list goes on.

He is compassionate and slow to anger [v8].

He does not treat us as our sins deserve [v10].

And still there is more. Far too much to record here in this brief blog.

But if life ever seems hard and the future so bleak that you can see nothing but darkness ahead, turn in your Bible to this psalm that celebrates God’s love. As you count with David the ways that God loves you, the darkness will break. And, with David, you will be lifted up to sing God’s praise.

Was . . . and am

I love those diet ads on TV and in the newspapers that feature 'before' and 'after' pictures. Sometimes they are obviously staged. The fatter 'before' person slouches and thrusts out the tummy. The leaner, meaner 'after' shows a side view, with his chest stuck out, his tummy tucked in.
In other diet ads the young woman featured [it's almost always young, very attractive women], looks like she never had a 'before'.
The Gospel makes 'before' and 'after' claims too. In 1 Timothy 1:12-16 Paul presented himself as an example. Before he was 'a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man'. After, having met Jesus and experienced the overflow of His grace, Paul became a different man.
This is what is unique about the truth of the Gospel. It isn't just a collection of true facts, or a compilation of doctrinal data. The truth of the Gospel is vital, transforming, dynamic. It is the living, active Word of God that when welcomed into our hearts works an inner alchemy.
Violence is transmuted into compassion. Blasphemy is altered to praise. Persecution is commuted into brotherly love.
Paul said, "Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners - of whom I am the worst". You and I may not be able to pose with Paul for the 'before' picture. But let's make sure we're right there with him for the 'after.
What you were isn't as important to God or others as what you are!

The four aspects of a Disciple ~ Conclusion

The call to discipleship is an invitation to you, even today. The job of a disciple today is no different than the job of a disciple in the First Century. We are called to follow Jesus. It is our job to memorize his words. It is our job to learn his traditions and interpretations of scripture. It is our job to imitate his actions. It is our job to raise up more disciples for him.

Jesus is calling you to follow him today. You can be his disciple, even today, just as Peter or John. The choice is yours. Come and join yourself to the company of the Disciples of Jesus.

The four aspects of a Disciple ~ An important difference

But there is an important distinction that needs to be made when we speak of discipleship and the disciples of Jesus. It is a distinction that Jesus himself drew for his disciples. We find it in Matthew 23:8-10 where he says to his disciples:

"But you are not to be called 'Rabbi,' for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth 'father,' for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor are you to be called 'teacher,' for you have one Teacher, the Messiah."

On the surface this would seem to contradict other parts of the NT in which we see that elders, fathers, teachers and leaders are ordained in the communities of faith. Are we to not have teachers or leaders?

The context in which he is speaking is the teacher-disciple relationship of the First Century. This teacher to student relationship is likened to a master to servant and father to son relationship.

Jesus says it is not to be like that for his disciples. He says that his disciples are not to be like other disciples in that regard. Other disciples, when they are trained go and raise disciples for themselves and then they become the teacher, the father, the rabbi, the master. Jesus' disciples are instructed not to raise disciples for themselves. There was not to be a School of Peter, a House of Andrew, an Academy of James.

The disciples of Jesus were never to take the role of master, because unlike the master's of the Pharisees or the men of the Great Assembly or sages like Hillel or Shammai, Jesus is still alive. Followers of Jesus are forbidden to make their own disciples because their job is to raise up more disciples for Jesus

For we have one teacher! The Messiah.

Ultimately, it is not that we do not have teachers among us, or elders, fathers, rabbis or even leaders. Of course we do. But we must never let our elders, fathers, rabbis, leaders or teachers take the place of our Master. We must never be the disciples of men carrying on the traditions of men. Rather, we must be disciples of the Messiah. We must never raise up disciples for ourselves, for our own self-aggrandizement. Rather we must raise up more disciples for him!

This is the peculiar distinctive of the Disciples of Jesus. Our Master is still alive.

The four aspects of a Disciple ~ Summary

These aspects describe the cultural context of the institution of discipleship in the gospels. When Jesus called his disciples, these four aspects are the things they were called to do. This is how they understood their job.

He spent three years teaching them and training them. When he left them, he gave them this command, "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." (Matthew 18:19,20) The great commission is the normal job of a disciple, to raise up more disciples.

The four aspects of a Disciple ~ Part 4

To raise up disciples. It was the job of a disciple, when finally trained, to raise up his own disciples. He was to create a new generation of students and to transmit to them the memorized words of his Master, the traditions and the interpretations of his Master, the actions and behaviours of his Master. The goal was to pass the teaching and the torch of discipleship from generation to generation. So each disciple became the teacher, the rabbi, the master, and the father to a new generation of disciples.

The four aspects of a Disciple ~ Part 3

To imitate their teacher's actions. It was the job of a disciple to be like his teacher. A disciple's highest calling was to be a reflection of his teacher. His goal was to one day be just like his Master. A disciple studied to learn to act and to speak and to respond the same way his Master would act and speak and respond. A disciple studied to do the things his Master did. The gospels express this concept with the words, "Every disciple, fully trained will be like his master." (Luke 6:40)

The four aspects of a Disciple ~ Part 2

To learn their teacher's traditions and interpretations. It was a disciple's job to learn the tradition of how his teacher kept the commands of God and interpreted the Scriptures. Every detail about the teacher was important to the disciple. The disciple needed to learn how the teacher washed his hands, how he kept the Sabbath, how he fasted, how he prayed, how he gave charity, how he affixed a mezuzah, how he said the blessings over food, etc. Furthermore, the way the teacher interpreted passages of scriptures, the meanings he drew out, the midrashim he told, the parables and stories he used to elucidate with, the way he explained a verse or understood a concept, each of these was of utmost importance to the disciple. Details of this sort were not just trivia. To a disciple, these were like gems and pearls meant to be gathered and treasured.

The four aspects of a Disciple ~ Part 1

To memorize their teacher's words. It was the job of a disciple to memorize his teacher's words. The oral transmission process was the only method practiced among the sages. The great rabbis and Torah scholars did not write scrolls or compose books for their students to read and study. Instead, they taught orally and their disciples studied by memorizing their words. Through constant repetition, disciples memorized their teacher's words verbatim and were able to repeat them to subsequent generations.

Ta Shma - Jewish Musical Group