Answering the Lord's Call to Discipleship

Discipleship and Mission

Call to Discipleship

A Costly Call

Mark 4:10-20 The Message

10-12 When they were off by themselves, those who were close to him, along with the Twelve, asked about the stories. He told them, “You’ve been given insight into God’s kingdom—you know how it works. But to those who can’t see it yet, everything comes in stories, creating readiness, nudging them toward receptive insight. These are people—
Whose eyes are open but don’t see a thing,
Whose ears are open but don’t understand a word,
Who avoid making an about-face and getting forgiven.”
13 He continued, “Do you see how this story works? All my stories work this way.
14-15 “The farmer plants the Word. Some people are like the seed that falls on the hardened soil of the road. No sooner do they hear the Word than Satan snatches away what has been planted in them.
16-17 “And some are like the seed that lands in the gravel. When they first hear the Word, they respond with great enthusiasm. But there is such shallow soil of character that when the emotions wear off and some difficulty arrives, there is nothing to show for it.
18-19 “The seed cast in the weeds represents the ones who hear the kingdom news but are overwhelmed with worries about all the things they have to do and all the things they want to get. The stress strangles what they heard, and nothing comes of it.
20 “But the seed planted in the good earth represents those who hear the Word, embrace it, and produce a harvest beyond their wildest dreams.”

For Reflection

Ok, I get it.  Some respond and begin a journey to discipleship.  God reveals the secrets of our souls only to those who want them. God's never forces the wisdom of Creation's mysteries upon us.

What of those who do not see, understand or avoid? Are those who do not respond to God's call rejected by God? 

Some of us prefer just about anything but change.  Those who fail t0 accept a new path fear that which they see as inconsistent with a personal world view and out of fear label the jump into faith non-rational. God protects them too. They have not yet developed trust in the unseen to risk failure.  In short, they have not suffered enough to reject their current path.  But, God's goodness includes us all; those who see and those who are blinded by the exigencies of life.

Pray

Pray so that when you fall you will be able to re-frame your experience as an opportunity to learn and to see the wisdom in your failure.

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