Corcovado jesus (Photo credit: @Doug88888)

LIVING AS APPRENTICES

Being a Christ-follower, walking in the dust of our Rabbi, is the journey of a lifetime.  It is a deeper commitment than most of us realize – until we step out onto the bridge of faith which leads us from our own need to control to recognizing the Lordship of Christ.  The quote for today is about that “cosmic” change.  Because the word cosmic is used to describe major forces or characteristics about the universe it has come to mean “enormous” or “of  great significance.”  Our surrender to Jesus is therefore a cosmic change, not just a paradigm shift (change of thought patterns).  And it sometimes feels more like dying than life – because that’s what we do when we truly give ourselves to Jesus; we put our own ideas of being “masters of our destiny” to death and begin to follow a new master.

The following quote from Field of Compassion, Judy Cannato describes that process:

“Cosmic change is not cosmetic change. It is radical, meaning ‘to the root,’ and it will mean the upheaval of our cherished customs and the disposal of stories that have provided the basic framework for our lives. We must not underestimate the enormity of what is being asked of us, even as we celebrate with joy the new and salvific. In its initial moments resurrection is indistinguishable from death. At first we are unable to see the great turning that has taken place. All that has been comfortable, all that has held us in place is gone, and there is nothing recognizable to stand on. Everything on which we have planted our feet is swept away.”

I suppose that can seem like too big a challenge, too much to give up, more like a drowning than a new life.  I, for one, however,  have always seen a need for a clean sweep.  That’s the joy of being broken.  Dying is wonderful if we can see even just a hint of resurrection.  This is life we are to not only represent, but  also present, to others.  This calling is much more exciting than  a sterile, though meaningful, statement of belief.