CHRISTIANS PROFESS
ONE THING BUT THEY
SEEM TO BE DOING ANOTHER. YOU CAN BELIEVE WHAT'S TRUE
AND FAIL TO LIVE UP TO IT. PROFESSING TO BELIEVE
SOMETHING AND BELIEVING
IT ARE TWO DIFFERENT THINGS. ANNOUNCER: WHY IT MAKES SENSE
TO DOUBT OR BELIEVE, ON THIS DAY OF DISCOVERY. MART DE HAAN:
ACROSS THE CENTURIES, MANY HAVE HONORED THOSE
WHO FIRST FOLLOWED JESUS. ALL OVER THE WORLD THEY'RE RECOGNIZED NOT ONLY FOR THEIR WILLINGNESS TO STAND WITH HIM, BUT ALSO FOR THEIR
WILLINGNESS TO DIE FOR
WHAT THEY SAID ABOUT HIM. BUT EVEN THOUGH MANY
WHO WALKED WITH JESUS IN
THIS REGION OF THE GALILEE, IN NORTHERN ISRAEL,
ARE REMEMBERED AS "SAINTS," THEY WERE ANYTHING BUT
PERFECT... BEFORE OR AFTER
THEY ANSWERED HIS CALL. DOWN THROUGH THE CENTURIES
FISHERMEN HAVE WORKED
THE WATERS OF GALILEE, AND SOME OF THE FIRST FOLLOWERS
OF JESUS WERE FISHERMEN. THERE WAS ALSO A TAX COLLECTOR. THERE WAS A ZEALOT WHO... WHO WAS LOOKING FOR
THE POLITICAL OVERTHROW
OF... OF THE GOVERNMENT. IT'S AN INTERESTING GROUP. TRY TO IMAGINE WHAT THEY MUST
HAVE BEEN THINKING WHEN JESUS
CALLED THEM TO FOLLOW HIM. TO SOME HE SAID, "FOLLOW ME.
I'LL MAKE YOU FISHERS OF MEN." THAT MUST HAVE RAISED QUESTIONS. HE SET A PACE THAT
WAS DIFFICULT FOR THEM
TO FOLLOW, BUT HE WAS... HE WAS ALSO SO
PATIENT WITH THOSE WHO
STUMBLED ALONG THE WAY. WELL, TODAY,
HUNDREDS OF YEARS LATER,
WE'RE STILL ASKING QUESTIONS. WHAT DOES IT MEAN
TO FOLLOW JESUS? WE'RE GONNA HEAR FROM
SOME MEN AND WOMEN... WHO'VE THOUGHT A LOT ABOUT WHAT
JESUS SAID ABOUT FOLLOWING HIM, AND ALSO ABOUT THOSE WHO HAVE...
HAVE TRIED AND FAILED. WHEN WE READ WHAT
THE GOSPELS SAY ABOUT
THE FOLLOWERS OF JESUS, WE FIND THEM A LOT
LIKE OURSELVES: SOMETIMES FEARFUL,
DOUBTING, FALLING SHORT
OF WHAT HE ASKED OF THEM. IN MANY WAYS THE SUCCESSES AND
FAILURES OF THESE DISCIPLES
ANTICIPATED WHAT FOLLOWED. DOWN THROUGH THE CENTURIES
THOSE WHO HAVE WANTED TO BE
KNOWN AS JESUS' FOLLOWERS... HAVE NOT ONLY
CHANGED THE WORLD, BUT
BY THEIR OWN FAILURES... HAVE CAUSED MANY
TO DOUBT THAT JESUS IS
REALLY WORTH FOLLOWING. MORE THAN A FEW ARE
DISTRACTED BY THE KIND OF
PEOPLE THEY FIND IN CHURCHES, WHERE THEY OFTEN SEEM TO
FIND MORE DARKNESS THAN LIGHT. BUT JESUS SAID THAT HIS FOLLOWERS WOULD BE DIFFERENT. SO WHY AREN'T MORE FOLLOWERS
REFLECTING THE LIGHT AND
LIFE OF JESUS? IT'S INTERESTING,
CURRENTLY WE HAVE
THIS WHOLE CROP OF... NEW ATHEISTS OR WHATEVER
YOU WANT TO CALL THEM. AND WHEN YOU
LOOK AT MOST OF THEM, YOU SEE THAT WHAT IS
FUNDAMENTALLY DRIVING THEM... IS NOT ARGUMENT
AND NOT RATIONALITY, THEY'RE JUST SICK OF
WHAT THEY KNOW OF CHRISTIANS. YEAH, I DOUBTED WHAT
I BELIEVED BACK WHEN I
HAD BEEN A CHRISTIAN... FOR ABOUT FIVE TO SEVEN YEARS
BECAUSE I DID NOT SEE... THE LOVE THAT I WAS READING
ABOUT IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
IN JOHN 17:21, WHEN JESUS SAYS THAT
YOU WILL KNOW... YOU WILL KNOW THAT
HE'S GOD'S SON BY THE
UNITY OF THE BELIEVERS. I DIDN'T SEE THAT,
THE ONENESS THAT THEY
WERE SUPPOSED TO DISPLAY. CHRISTIANS ARE THE ONES
WHO ARE PREJUDICED. CHRISTIANS ARE THE ONES
WHO HATE PEOPLE. CHRISTIANS ARE THE ONES
WHO ARE WARMONGERS. CHRISTIANS ARE THE ONES
WHO ALWAYS VOTE FOR THESE
KIND OF CANDIDATES, AND YEAH, AND SOMETIMES
THEY'RE JERKS, TOO. AND THEN LOOK DOWN THROUGH HISTORY AND THEN WE'VE
GOT THE INQUISITION, AND THE WITCH TRIALS
AND THE CRUSADES AND THE, YOU KNOW, CHRISTIANS
JUST HURT PEOPLE. THAT'S NOT A KIND OF PERSON
I WANT TO BE AROUND AND... AND YOU KNOW, THERE...
THERE'S SOME BAGGAGE
THAT GOES ALONG WITH THIS. PEOPLE ALSO DON'T LIKE
THE PEJORATIVE, JUDGMENTAL, JAUNDICED EYES, SOMETIMES,
THAT CHRISTIANS HAVE.
AND ONE GOOD QUESTION IS, IS THAT EVEN THE KIND OF
PRESCRIPTION THAT CHRISTIAN... THAT SCRIPTURE GIVES, OR IS THAT LIKE A MODERN
INVENTION OF WHAT CHRISTIANS
ARE SUPPOSED TO BE AND ACT LIKE? CHRISTIANS SHOULD BE
REPROACHED FOR THIS, AND IF... IF THEY TAKE
OUR OWN STICK TO BEAT US WITH, THAT'S ALL THE BETTER,
AS FAR AS I'M CONCERNED. WELL, I THINK ONE
OF THE PERCEPTIONS OF
CHRISTIANITY SOMETIMES, THAT PEOPLE HAVE WHO AREN'T
A PART OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH, IS THAT CHRISTIANS THINK
OF THEMSELVES AS PERFECT, AND THAT THEY ARE PERFECT,
OR AT LEAST THEY CLAIM TO BE, AND IN FACT,
NOTHING COULD BE A GREATER
MISREADING OF CHRISTIANITY. MOST PEOPLE THAT I KNOW,
AND THE BEST CHRISTIANS I KNOW, DO NOT WANT TO BE
PUT ON PEDESTALS BECAUSE
THEY KNOW THEY ARE HUMAN, AND THEY'RE
GOING TO FALL OFF. WE WANT TO CONSTANTLY SAY,
NOW, YOU KNOW, CHRISTIANS ARE NOT
THE ONES WE LOOK AT IF WE
WANT TO BE FAIR AND HONEST. OF COURSE, IF YOU WANT TO
LOOK AT THAT, YOU'RE FREE. IT'S NOT GOING TO
DO YOU MUCH GOOD, AND MAYBE WHAT YOU OUGHT
TO LOOK AT IS THE SUBSTANCE
OF CHRISTIAN FAITH... THAT MADE IT A MOVEMENT
ON THE EARTH OF SUCH
PROPORTIONS AS IT IS NOW. GRANTED, IF ALL YOU
SEE IN THESE CHRISTIANS
WAS ALL THERE WAS TO IT, THAT WOULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED. THE BIBLE TELLS US THAT ALL
PEOPLE ARE TWO THINGS: WE'RE
FINITE, I.E., WE'RE NOT GOD, AND WE'RE SINNERS.
WE'VE DONE AT LEAST
ONE THING BAD IN OUR LIFE. I MEAN, WE ALL HAVE THOSE
CHARACTERISTICS AND SO WHEN... IF YOU GIVE ME A,
"CHRISTIANS CAN BE JERKS,"
KIND OF OBJECTION, I JUST SAY, "WOW, WOW, YEAH,
YOU'RE RIGHT. THAT WAS DEEP
THINKING. YEAH, THAT'S GOOD." I MEAN, IT REALLY IS TRUE, BUT
WHERE DOES IT GO AFTER THAT? NOW, IF A PERSON REALLY
WANTS TO UNDERSTAND, THEN THEY CAN BEGIN TO
LOOK INTO THE MATTER DEEPER, AND BOTH THE HISTORICAL
FACTS ABOUT CHRIST AND
INTO THE LIVES... OF THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE
BEEN MOST OUTSTANDING
AS FOLLOWERS OF CHRIST, AND THEN THEY CAN FIND SOMETHING THAT MIGHT HELP THEM. BUT IF THEY JUST STAY STUCK ON
THE FAILURES OF CHRISTIANS, THEIR CONDITION...
THEIR OWN CONDITION WILL
JUST GET WORSE AND WORSE. THEY NEED TO TURN TO WHAT
IS GOOD IN CHRIST HIMSELF, AND IN THOSE WHO MADE THE
CHRISTIAN MOVEMENT THROUGH HISTORY SO POWERFUL, WHAT IS GOOD IN THEM AND
ALL OF THEM HAVE SOMETHING
WRONG WITH THEM, BUT YOU LOOK FOR WHAT IS GOOD
AND THEN YOU... YOU BRING
YOURSELF OVER AGAINST THAT, AND TRY TO DEAL WITH YOUR LIFE
IN TERMS OF THAT. LET'S SUPPOSE
I'M A NON-CHRISTIAN, AND I KNOW A FEW THINGS
ABOUT WHAT'S WRONG WITH IT. BERTRAND RUSSELL IS ACTUALLY
AN EXCELLENT CASE OF THIS, BECAUSE RUSSELL WAS RAISED
BY HIS GRANDPARENTS IN... IN A PRESBYTERIAN
RELIGION AND ACTUALLY
WAS HIMSELF QUITE A SIN... QUITE A SERIOUS MEMBER
OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH... UNTIL HE WENT THROUGH THINGS
THAT TURNED HIM AGAINST IT
AND TURNED HIM TO ATHEISM. NOW THEN, THE QUESTION IS
WHEN YOU LOOK AT THAT, HOW MUCH DID HE GET
OUT OF HIS ATHEISM TO
HELP HIM LIVE HIS LIFE? WELL, PEOPLE WHO KNEW RUSSELL,
THOUGH MANY OF THEM LOVED HIM, JUST THOUGHT HE WAS AN INCREDIBLE FAILURE AS A PERSON. WHAT DOES ATHEISM,
HUMANISM, ANY OF THE OTHER, AGNOSTICISM, WHAT DOES IT HAVE
TO HELP YOU LIVE YOUR LIFE? AND IF A PERSON IS SERIOUSLY
CONCERNED ABOUT THAT QUESTION, THEN THEY HAVE SOMETHING
TO GUIDE THEM THROUGH
THE OBVIOUS FAILURES... OF INDIVIDUALS AND
GROUPS, AS CHRISTIANS, TO SOMETHING, NAMELY TO CHRIST HIMSELF, THAT WILL LIVE IN THEM, AND ENABLE THEM TO BE THE KIND
OF PERSON THEY OUGHT TO BE
AND PROBABLY WISH THEY WERE. MART: ONE OF THE INTERESTING
THINGS ABOUT THE FIRST
FOLLOWERS OF JESUS... IS WHERE THEY CAME FROM.
AND SOME OF THEM WERE
SIMPLY FISHERMEN, PROFESSIONAL FISHERMEN WHO
HEARD JESUS SAY, "FOLLOW ME." THE NEW TESTAMENT
TELLS US A LOT ABOUT THEM, ABOUT THEIR SUCCESSES,
ABOUT THEIR FAILURES, AND GIVES US A LOT OF REASON
TO WONDER WHAT IT'S LIKE
2,000 YEARS LATER FOR US. WHAT WOULD PEOPLE TODAY LOOK
LIKE? HOW WOULD THEY ACT IF...
IF THEY CHOSE TO FOLLOW HIM? ONE OF THE MOST STRIKING
FEATURES, IN MY VIEW, ABOUT THE GOSPELS IS
THE REALISTIC PORTRAIT... THEY GIVE US OF JESUS'
EARLIEST FOLLOW... FOLLOWERS. THEY WEREN'T... THEY
WEREN'T JUST WHITEWASHED
RELIGIOUS ICONS. THESE WERE... THESE WERE EVERYDAY PEOPLE LIKE YOU AND ME
THAT JESUS CALLED TO FOLLOW HIM, AND HIS PURPOSE WAS TO TRANSFORM THEM SO THAT THEY WOULD... THEY WOULD... THEY WOULD BE
ALL THAT GOD DESIRES FOR THEM. NOW, THE INTERESTING THING IN
THINKING ABOUT THESE DISCIPLES
WHO FAIL ALL OVER THE PLACE... IS HOW PATIENT
JESUS IS WITH THEM. BUT JESUS HAS VERY LITTLE
PATIENCE FOR PEOPLE WHO THINK THEY HAVE IT ALL TOGETHER... AND ARE ALL RIGHT
ON THEIR OWN AND YET FAIL,
WHAT WE WOULD CALL HYPOCRITES. IN FACT, IT'S INTERESTING
THAT THE GROUP THAT JESUS
IS THE HARSHEST WITH... IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
ARE THE PHARISEES, WHO ARE PROBABLY
THE MOST RELIGIOUS PEOPLE
IN THE NEW TESTAMENT, IN TERMS OF THEIR ATTEMPTS
TO FOLLOW GOD AND TO HON...
AND TO HONOR HIM. AND WHY IS HE SO HARD
ON THEM? BECAUSE THEY THINK
THEY CAN DO IT THEMSELVES. MART:
INTERESTINGLY, TODAY MANY SEEM
TO LIKE AND ADMIRE JESUS... WHILE HAVING LITTLE
REGARD FOR WHAT THEY
HAVE SEEN OF CHRISTIANS, AND THE CHRISTIAN FAITH. IN MANY PLACES,
EVEN AROUND THE WORLD, THE TERM "CHRISTIAN" HAS
A LOT OF REALLY BAD BAGGAGE, NOT JUST BECAUSE OF THINGS
THAT PEOPLE HAVE DONE UNDER
THE BANNER OF CHRISTIANITY, BUT BECAUSE OF MISCONCEPTIONS
OF WHAT THE TERM EVEN MEANS. A CHRISTIAN IS ONE WHO FOLLOWS
THE LORD JESUS CHRIST AND HAS
GIVEN THEIR LIVES TO HIM, AND SEEK TO LIVE ACCORDING
TO HIS WILL IN THEIR LIVES. WE'RE IN A STAGE WHERE PEOPLE
GENERALLY SUFFER FROM... JUST MISINFORMATION AND
IGNORANCE ABOUT THIS, AND THEY TEND TO TAKE
THEIR IDEAS OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH FROM THE NEWSPAPERS, AND THE NEWSPAPERS
TEND TO PICK UP ON
STUFF THAT IS GARISH, AND OFTEN UNGODLY AND
EVEN WICKED, OUTRIGHT WICKED, AND THAT GETS IDENTIFIED
WITH THE CHRISTIAN FAITH. MOST PEOPLE HAVE NO IDEA
WHAT THE CHRISTIAN FAITH IS, AND THEY DON'T ASSOCIATE IT
WITH STEADFAST DISCIPLESHIP
TO CHRIST... IN A VOCATION
OF GOODNESS THAT REDEEMS
THE PERSON AND MAKES THEM, AS JESUS SAID, "YOU ARE
THE SALT OF THE EARTH. YOU
ARE THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD." OF COURSE, ONE ASPECT OF ALL
THIS IS THAT JESUS REPEATEDLY
TELLS US TO FOLLOW HIM. HE SAYS, "TAKE UP YOUR
CROSS AND FOLLOW ME." HE SAYS HE CAME TO SERVE.
HE CAME TO GIVE HIS LIFE
A RANSOM FOR MANY. WE SEE HIM AS THE SERVANT.
WE SEE HIM AS PROVIDING A
WAY TO OTHERS. I THINK WHAT WE SEE HERE
IS A... IS A TWO-FOLD CALL... TO FOLLOW JESUS PRIMARILY,
AND THEN TO LIVE FOR OTHERS. IN OUR CULTURE THE CHRISTIAN
IS REGARDED AS THE BULLY, EX-BULLY TO BE SURE,
BUT ONE WHO WAS OPPRESSIVE
AND UNFAIR AND UNKIND, AND STILL TENDS TO BE,
BECAUSE ONE SURVEY WAS MADE, NOT A SCIENTIFIC ONE BUT
JUST A NEIGHBORHOOD SURVEY:
WHAT IS A CHRISTIAN? "CHRISTIANS ARE PEOPLE
WHO GO TO LOTS OF MEETINGS
AND ARE AGAINST LOTS OF THINGS." AND THAT'S... NOW PEOPLE DON'T
FEEL RESPONSIBLE. BECAUSE... BECAUSE THEY THINK THIS IS
SO OBVIOUSLY UNINTERESTING,
BAD, BORING, OR WRONG, THEY DON'T THINK... THEY DON'T
FEEL ANY RESPONSIBILITY TO
INFORM THEMSELVES... ABOUT THE CHRISTIAN FAITH,
AND IN PARTICULAR, TO INFORM
THEMSELVES ABOUT CHRIST, JESUS CHRIST, WHO HE WAS,
WHAT HE DID, HOW HE HAS INFLUENCED HUMAN HISTORY, AND INDEED, IS REALLY THE
SOURCE OF MANY OF THE THINGS... THAT THEY HOLD DEAR
TO THEIR OWN LIFE. LIKE, FOR EXAMPLE,
IN ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT
THIS IDEA OF DIVERSITY... IS SOMETHING THAT MANY PEOPLE
FAVOR AND IT SHOULD BE FAVORED. BUT MANY PEOPLE DON'T
UNDERSTAND THAT ITS ROOT
IS SIMPLY IN NEIGHBOR LOVE... AS JESUS TALKED ABOUT IT. IF THERE'S ANYTHING
AT ALL TO DIVERSITY, IT HAS TO
ULTIMATELY BE FOUNDED IN LOVE, BUT A PART OF THE
MISUNDERSTANDINGS
THAT PEOPLE HAVE... IS THAT YOU CAN HAVE
JUSTICE WITHOUT LOVE. BUT THE IDEAL IS
JESUS CHRIST AND WE HAVE TO
MEASURE PEOPLE AGAINST THAT. THAT'S THE GENUINE CHRISTIAN
FAITH BUT IT TAKES PEOPLE A
WHILE TO GET AROUND TO THAT. AND WE HAVE TO BE PATIENT
AND STAY WITH THEM, WHETHER THEY ARE CHRISTIANS
OR NON-CHRISTIANS, TO HELP THEM UNDERSTAND
THAT, BECAUSE MANY OF
OUR CHRISTIANS... DON'T UNDERSTAND
THE CHRISTIAN FAITH MUCH
BETTER THAN NON-CHRISTIANS. WE ALL MEET PEOPLE, DON'T WE,
WHO DON'T LIVE UP TO WHAT THEY
PROFESS TO BELIEVE. WE EXPECT CERTAIN THINGS
FROM THEM AND WE GET
SOMETHING DIFFERENT, AND THERE'S A DISCREPANCY
BETWEEN WHAT THEY PREACH,
WHAT THEY PROCLAIM, WHAT THEY TELL US
THEY BELIEVE AND HOW THEY ACTUALLY ORGANIZE THEIR LIVES. AND THAT'S NOT VERY ATTRACTIVE.
WE THINK THAT THAT MEANS THAT THERE'S SOMETHING REALLY... THERE'S A DISCONNECT THERE.
MAYBE WHAT THEY BELIEVE IS NOT EVEN TRUE BECAUSE OF THIS. THE SEPARATION HERE BETWEEN
WHAT PEOPLE SAY THEY BELIEVE
AND WHAT THEY BELIEVE... IS WHAT WE HAVE TO
PAY ATTENTION TO. WE BRING PEOPLE INTO OUR
CHURCHES ON THE BASIS
OF WHAT THEY PROFESS. PROFESSING TO BELIEVE
SOMETHING AND BELIEVING
IT ARE TWO DIFFERENT THINGS. AND WE DON'T DO WELL WITH THIS
PARTLY BECAUSE OUR... OUR PRACTICE IS ACTUALLY BASED
ON PROFESSION, NOT ON BELIEF, AND THAT'S PARTLY
AGAIN BECAUSE WE DON'T BASE
OUR BELIEFS ON KNOWLEDGE. THE BEST THING TO DO
IS TO KNOW WHAT YOU BELIEVE
WHERE YOU CAN, AND THAT WILL STABILIZE
BELIEF SO THAT WHEN YOU
ARE CONFRONTED WITH A CHOICE, THEN YOU WILL GO WITH
WHAT YOU BELIEVE. AND OUR... VERY OFTEN
WITH CHRISTIANS, WE'RE DEALING WITH PEOPLE WHO DO
NOT BELIEVE WHAT THEY PROFESS. THEY'RE WELL-MEANING.
THEY'VE BEEN TOLD THEY BELIEVE
IT BUT THEY DON'T BELIEVE IT. THEY JUST PROFESS IT. WE ALWAYS
LIVE UP OR DOWN TO OUR BELIEFS. WE RARELY LIVE UP TO WHAT
WE PROFESS TO BELIEVE. WELL, TODAY, YOU KNOW,
YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A DISCIPLE
OF JESUS TO BE A CHRISTIAN. AND THIS IS A SIMPLE
AND YET PROFOUND WAY OF
EXPRESSING THE PROBLEM... THAT THE UNBELIEVER FACES
WHEN HE LOOKS AT CHRISTIANS. PEOPLE COME INTO
THE STATUS OF "CHRISTIAN"
IN MANY, MANY WAYS. IF YOU LOOK AT HOW PEOPLE
ARE BROUGHT INTO THE
CHURCH, AS WE MIGHT SAY, THERE ARE MANY DIFFERENT
WAYS THAT THEY COME IN,
BUT WHAT IS REMARKABLE IS... YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE
A DISCIPLE OF JESUS TO
BECOME A CHURCH MEMBER. WELL, A DISCIPLE
IS A LEARNER, A STUDENT. I LIKE THE WORD "APPRENTICE,"
BECAUSE IT HAS THE HANDS-ON
SENSE, THE PRACTICAL. AND BEING... BEING A FOLLOWER
OF CHRIST IS A MATTER OF HOW
YOU LIVE YOUR LIFE, AND IN PARTICULAR,
YOU ARE LEARNING FROM HIM. YOU'RE HIS STUDENT.
HE'S YOUR MASTER. AND BEING LORD REALLY
INCLUDES, HE IS YOUR TEACHER. AND SO NOW YOU'RE LEARNING FROM
HIM HOW TO LEAD YOUR LIFE... AS HE WOULD LEAD
YOUR LIFE IF HE WERE YOU. YOU'RE NOT TRYING JUST
TO BE LIKE HIM OR CERTAINLY
NOT TO LEAD HIS LIFE. THAT'S OVER AND DONE WITH AND HE
TOOK CARE OF IT IN GOOD SHAPE. MY PROBLEM IS MY LIFE.
WHAT IS... WHAT IS REAL? IS CHRIST REAL?
IS THE KINGDOM OF GOD REAL? NOW, BY THAT I MEAN
CAN I DEPEND UPON IT? CAN I LIVE INTERACTIVELY
WITH THE KINGDOM OF GOD? WHAT IS THE KINGDOM OF GOD?
WELL, THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS
JUST GOD ACTING. WE SAY "REIGN" IN THEOLOGY,
WHICH WAS THE REIGN OF GOD. BUT THE REIGN OF GOD MEANS
WHAT GOD IS DOING, HIS ACTION. AND SO IN CHRIST, GOD COMES INTO THE WORLD IN A SPECIAL WAY, AND INVITES PEOPLE
TO BECOME HIS DISCIPLES. AND SO THE ISSUE IS WHAT KIND
OF A PERSON AM I? AND THAT'S
WHERE DISCIPLESHIP COMES IN. SO THE ANSWER
TO THE QUESTION, HOW DO I
BECOME A REALLY GOOD PERSON? THAT... THE CHRISTIAN
ANSWER TO THAT IS, BECOME
A DISCIPLE OF JESUS. AND WHO IS A REALLY
GOOD PERSON? WELL, ANYONE WHO IS PERVADED
WITH AGAPE LOVE IS A REALLY
GOOD PERSON. HOW DO YOU GET THERE?
BY DISCIPLESHIP TO CHRIST. NOW, THAT'S THE BIG GAP
BETWEEN BEING A DISCIPLE
AND BEING A CHRISTIAN, IS ALMOST I WOULD...
I WOULD JUST SAY IS A
CURSE UPON THE EARTH, BECAUSE IT MAKES PEOPLE,
BOTH BELIEVERS AND NOT, THINK THERE IS THIS ALTERNATIVE
OVER HERE TO BEING A PERSON... WHO, DAY BY DAY, IS LIVING WITH JESUS IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD, AND LEARNING FROM HIM
HOW TO DEAL WITH ALL
OF THE ISSUES OF LIFE, HOW TO DO THE THINGS
THAT HE SAID, HOW TO DEAL WITH
A SURPRISE DROP IN THE
STOCK MARKET, FOR EXAMPLE. HOW WOULD JESUS DO THAT?
IN MY SITUATION I LIKE TO, WHEN I'M ON CHRISTIAN CAMPUSES TALKING TO FACULTY, I LIKE TO ASK THEM, "HOW WOULD
JESUS TEACH ECONOMICS 101?" AND YOU CAN SEE
ON THEIR FACES THEY NEVER
EVEN THOUGHT THAT THOUGHT. BUT, OF COURSE, IF THEY'RE
HIS DISCIPLE, THEY SHOULD BE
LEARNING HOW HE WOULD DO THAT. AND THAT'S THE CALLING. ACTUALLY, THAT'S THE GIFT AND
THAT'S WHAT MAKES THE YOKE OF
JESUS EASY AND THE BURDEN LIGHT, IS BECAUSE WE'RE WALKING
WITH HIM. THAT'S DISCIPLESHIP. MART: FROM THE BEGINNING,
THERE HAVE BEEN THOSE... WHO HAVE INSPIRED OTHERS
TO FOLLOW THEM AS THEY
FOLLOWED CHRIST. ONE OF THEM WAS
THE APOSTLE PAUL. HE CRISSCROSSED THE LAND
AND WATERS OF THE ROMAN WORLD, CALLING ON MEN AND WOMEN, JEW
AND GENTILE, SLAVE AND FREE, TO GIVE THEIR LIVES TO JESUS
AS THE SON OF GOD. MANY BELIEVE HE WAS
IMPRISONED HERE IN ROME,
IN THE MAMERTINE PRISON, ACCUSED OF TREASON BY
HIS JEWISH COUNTRYMEN. WHILE IMPRISONED
AND FACING EXECUTION, PAUL, AS A FOLLOWER
OF CHRIST TO THE END,
WROTE SOME OF HIS LAST WORDS. HE SENT ONE OF THOSE LETTERS
BACK TO PHILIPPI, TO THE FIRST CHURCH
HE HAD FOUNDED IN EUROPE. IN THAT LETTER,
PAUL IN HIS OWN WORDS... DESCRIBED WHAT BEING A FOLLOWER
OF CHRIST MEANT TO HIM. PAUL ALSO TALKED ABOUT
HIS OWN LIMITATIONS. AND THEN, FILLED WITH EMOTION,
PAUL WROTE ABOUT THE DANGER
OF ONLY PROFESSING FAITH. PAUL WAS MOVED BY THE NEEDS
OF THE CHURCH BUT SEEMED
ALMOST UNAFFECTED BY PRISON. THE DARKNESS DIDN'T DAMPEN
HIS FOCUS ON CHRIST. HIS DESIRE, HE SAID, WAS TO
EXPERIENCE THE LIFE AND POWER
OF CHRIST IN HIS OWN WEAKNESS. A LOT OF TIME HAS PASSED.
SO MUCH HAS CHANGED SINCE THE... THE MEN AND WOMEN
OF THE GALILEE FIRST HEARD
JESUS TALK ABOUT FOLLOWING HIM, BUT A LOT REMAINS THE SAME.
IN FACT, 2,000 YEARS LATER
MANY CONTINUE TO STRUGGLE... WITH THE HIGH STANDARDS THAT
JESUS SET FOR HIS FOLLOWERS. OTHERS POINT OUT THAT HE WAS
SO FORGIVING AND PATIENT,
HOWEVER, WITH THOSE WHO... WHO DID TRY AND FAIL. OVER THE YEARS,
I'VE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY... TO WALK HERE IN THIS LAND
WHERE JESUS ACTUALLY WALKED. AND ONE OF THE THINGS
I'VE FOUND IS THAT THIS LAND, SO OFTEN CALLED
THE "HOLY LAND," DOESN'T
REALLY MAKE ANYONE LIKE JESUS. BUT THE BIBLICAL TOWNS
AND LANDSCAPES HERE DO
STIR THE IMAGINATION, AND GIVE US A PHYSICAL
AND HISTORICAL BACKDROP
TO REFLECT ON WHO JESUS WAS, WHAT HE SAID AND WHAT HE DID. AND WHEN I REFLECT ON WHAT
JESUS SAID ABOUT FOLLOWING HIM, I'M REMINDED THAT IT'S NOT SO MUCH ABOUT WHAT WE DO FOR HIM, AS WHAT HE HAS OFFERED
TO DO IN AND THROUGH US... AFTER WE GIVE HIM OUR HEARTS
AND AS WE KEEP OUR EYES ON HIM.
