I heard Dallas Willard talking about becoming more like Christ and it's been ringing in my ears. He was talking about discipleship and and how we need to focus more on helping people connect their walk with Christ to their everyday living instead of just another thing to add to their to-do list, things like reading your Bible, having a quiet time, prayer time, Bible study, church or any other number of "to-dos."
I'm not, for even a minute, going to suggest that those things aren't beneficial and important. But they're not the most important thing. In fact, they have become an idol for many people, especially those that consistently can mark them off of their to-do list. The most important thing is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength. That means the most important thing isn't limited to a time or place, but instead should be happening at work, when you're playing softball, watching TV, on the golf course, surfing the web, out to eat, driving, walking, sleeping, you name it.
Discipleship isn't about setting aside a time to read, study and learn. It's not about when you do that (or don't). Discipleship is about becoming like the one you follow - not at some pre-appointed time, but all the time. It's about what your motivation is. Do we really want to love God with all our heart? If so, it can't simply be limited to an hour set aside for "quiet time devotions." Do we really want to love God with all our mind? If so it can't be just focused on what we know about the Bible, but what we are learning about God's world.
And we can't limit discipleship to a place. School may be limited to a classroom, but education isn't. Discipleship is education and it happens everywhere, all day long, whenever we seek to become like the one we claim to follow. Don't you think it's time we take discipleship with us?
