I have to ask you a
question. Are you trying integrate your traditional discipleship with the doctrine of becoming as a little child and being born again? Is that the
issue everyone I talk to is having? That what we have been taught is
different from what the scriptures tell us to do? The mandates given by
the Church leaders can be followed by everyone on the spectrum regardless of
whether they have been born again. I have wondered, though, if there is
an assumption by many Church leaders that we all have been born again.
Until I was born again I would put into practice the program of the Church with
very limited success. My view of everything changed after I felt the
redeeming love my Savior.
Maybe we should stop ‘trying to live the gospel of Jesus
Christ’ and just live it. Just live it with all our failings, faults,
sins and offensive behavior. Maybe, if we did this, letting go of our
shame, humbling ourselves, realizing that we need someone to rescue us today
(not tomorrow – we work on today’s evil), we would realize that Christ’s grace
is sufficient for all those who come unto him today. And, we no longer
say in our minds, ‘I’ll do better tomorrow’. We no longer postpone our life
in Christ. As we choose to be meek and lowly of heart we will find how
impossible it really is. We turn to our Savior crying for help,
acknowledging that we can’t do it on our own (not get angry, turn the other
cheek, not lust in our hearts, etc., etc.). The scriptures call this
‘coming unto Christ’. This realization that we will never be perfect
trying to obey ‘the law’, BUT we can be perfect in Christ. When we come
to this realization, frustrated, in anguish, worthless, - this is when we are
ready to be baptized by fire and of the Holy Ghost and have our sins
remitted. And, Christ comes to us sooner than we ever would have
expected. Surrendering (the sacrifice of a broken heart and contrite
spirit) always comes first. What I mean by ‘first’ is it is the thing we
do, it is all that we can do, there is nothing else we can do but repent and
turn to the Savior believing (the faith part is to turn) that He CAN HEAL US.
I believe discipleship begins here. What we do in the
meantime is designed to get us here. A school master. It is also
designed to move the Church forward. But, moving the Church forward
doesn’t SAVE us. What saves us is knowing Christ and He knowing us.
To know Christ is to suffer with Christ. His teachings will cause us to
‘suffer’ (at first) until we realize that His way is the right way (forgiving
others of their trespasses, turning the other cheek, being longsuffering,
caring, etc.). We then are filled with His love, are perfected in Him,
and are sanctified by His blood. Christ becomes precious to us. We
no longer want to sin but we do. We improve slowly walking hand in hand
with Christ relying only on His merits. Christ becomes the author of our
faith. We become his children. The demands of justice are satisfied.
Our past, present, and future sins (weaknesses) are covered by Jesus. As
long as we don’t rebel. I fall from grace all the time but repent
and come back and am filled with His love once again. We then move from
grace to grace, offering a grace for a grace. Our inner man begins to change. The image of Christ starts appearing in our countenance.
Well, this is a grand first step!
Scott
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