Die in Obscurity
January 13, 2013
Scott Yi asks why it is that we have bigger and bigger churches today, but less and less revival. What we’ve lost is the sacrificial heart of discipleship. Jesus calls us to come and die to ourselves, while today’s technoculture is all about individualistic posturing. During the Roman plagues, nameless martyrs shook the social order upside-down and converted an empire. What are we willing to put on the line?
scriptures cited:
2 Corinthians 3:1-3
Philippians 2:6-7
Luke 12:15
Mark 6:34-44
Mark 8:1-9
Ephesians 2:8-10
Titus 2:14
Titus 3:1
Titus 3:14
1 Corinthians 15:31
Job 29:17
Proverbs 31:8-9
communion meditation:
“Are we willing to go where Jesus went, giving until it hurts? A giving that puts us in a position no better than when we originally began? A giving that kills all control we thought we had over our lives? A giving that will leave us separated from the things we always wanted in life? I don’t believe in the ability of billions of dollars of philanthropist money to change the world. Money hasn’t been able to save the world and it never will. But those who give out of their poverty… these are the dangerous ones the world should fear. And the poor disciples of Jesus are the most dangerous of all, because I believe that when you have nothing to give, it’s then that you have nothing to lose. When you have nothing to lose, the impossible is within your grasp."
reflection questions:
Perhaps the majority of our growing pains come from trying to figure out who we are—finding an identity that we can be happy with. Do you think the journey to adulthood should always be difficult, or is there something about our culture that makes the process especially complicated today?
When was it that you moved from being part of the crowd to wanting to be a disciple? What changed in you?
Thomas Merton often writes that we should desire poverty in all its forms, because having nothing of our own to rely on forces us to cry out to God. And we get to see that God loves to answer us. One example of this principle is doing outreach: when we put more on the line, it becomes easier to see God show up. How else have you seen God respond to poverty?
What are the things in your life that keep you from stepping into a deeper lifestyle of discipleship? What can the church do better to help you into that deeper lifestyle?
What are some ways, in your own life, that God might be calling you to a greater measure of sacrifice? What are some ways that God invites you to “die every day” as Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:31?