Seth Barnes May 25, 2006 8:00 PM

Why does “abandon” need to be a part of your discipling curriculum?

We are not physical beings having temporary spiritual experiences. We are spiritual beings having a temporary physical experience. But we mistake what...

Subscribe


We are not physical beings having temporary spiritual experiences. We are spiritual beings having a temporary physical experience. But we mistake what we see and hear for reality. Three times in his second book, Peter describes followers of Jesus as “strangers in this world.”

Jesus clued us in to life behind the matrix. He said things like:

“Love your enemies.” (To apply this, ask: “OK, who are my enemies and how do I treat them?")

“Give to everyone who asks you.” (To apply this, ask: “How do I respond to panhandlers?")

“Sell your possessions and give to the poor.” (I haven’t done that yet - have you?)

In conclusion, he advises: “Stop judging by mere appearances.”

Somehow, we’ve sanitized the Jesus of the Bible. We’ve reduced the business of being His follower down to saying a three sentence prayer while we continue living life as usual. I regularly confuse spiritual reality with appearances and most people I know do too.

I love the scene where Toto pulls back the curtain on the great and wonderful Oz - this blog is a concerted effort to do that, helping us to “stop judging by mere appearances.” We have been led to believe all kinds of things that are what the Bible calls “vain imaginations.” Jesus called them “old wineskins.” Isaiah saw them in a vision as dry bones.

No one can be your personal Holy Spirit, but we can help one another question assumptions. Why do you live the way you live? What in your life can you really not do without? How do you begin looking and smelling like Jesus in a world as complicated as ours? There may be no easy answers, but we can help one another look behind the curtain. We do that as we practice abandon and particularly as we practice it recklessly.

Comments


Comment created and will be displayed once approved.

Related Blogs

Spiritual hunger like a heat-seeking missile

Spiritual hunger like a heat-seeking missile

Gabe Landes is finishing up another round of men's blog discipleship focus...

By Seth Barnes
How NOT to come off a fast

How NOT to come off a fast

When you hit my age, the doctor sends you to a specialist who looks around in yo...

By Seth Barnes
Your achilles heel is the threshold of God's grace

Your achilles heel is the threshold of God's grace

"My power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9) We all want to re...

By Seth Barnes

Related Races (3)

Colombia | Semesters | June 2026

Colombia | Semesters | June 2026

Gap Year | 9 Months | August 2026

Gap Year | 9 Months | August 2026

Latin America-Study Abroad

Latin America-Study Abroad

Next article

How are high school seniors defining success?

Our AI generated post content for you!

Here's a suggested caption you can copy and tweak.