Why Bother With Discipleship?

It is quite rare to find an article on the net that is worth reading from beginning to end but here's one from Dallas Willard thanks to a link from Dan at Cerulean Sanctum

Check out Why Bother With Discipleship?

He quotes from Tozer, "that salvation apart from obedience is unknown in the sacred scriptures." And then goes on to say a load of good stuff that puts it so much better than I could:

"Spiritual formation" in the Christian tradition is a process of increasingly being possessed and permeated by such character traits as we walk in the easy yoke of discipleship with Jesus our teacher. From the inward character the deeds of love then naturally--but supernaturally--and transparently flow. Of course there will always be room for improvement, so we need not worry that we will become perfect--at least for a few weeks or months. Our aim is to be pervasively possessed by Jesus through constant companionship with him. Like our brother Paul: "This one thing I do! ...I press toward the mark! ...That I may know him!" (Phil. 3)

This part ties in well with Clare's talk on "perfection" a couple of weeks back in the evening service.

The whole article is worth a good read, addressing a very real issue for us today and I am chewing on it at the moment.