Vol.
XL April 3, 2008 No. 4
Disciplined Lives
by Tom McLemore
In
Matthew 7:13, 14, our Lord said, “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate
is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who
take it. For the gate is narrow and the
road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” In Luke 13:22-24 we are told that “Jesus went
through one town and village after another, teaching as he made his way to
We Must Strive to Live Disciplined Lives.
The original word in Luke 13:24
translated “strive” is the word from which we get “agonize” and meant “to
strain every nerve.” It was used of
exerting one’s self in an athletic contest.
This means getting serious about going to heaven. It means that going to heaven is about lives
with priorities set on heaven.
As Jesus declared in Matthew 6:33, “But
strive first for the
We Must Strive to Live a Disciplined Life As Jesus
Lived.
Jesus was the model of the disciplined
life. Think of what he was up against,
the obstacles he had to overcome, dealing with opponents, etc. Yet, look at what he was able to accomplish–salvation
of mankind and training of twelve weak men to proclaim that salvation to the
world. He did it in three and one half
years!
The only way he was able to do this
was to enter the difficult and demanding gate and follow the narrow way,
namely, the way of discipline. For
instance, e.g., his attitude was always, “it is proper for us... to fulfill all
righteousness” (Matthew 3:15). He
stated, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work”
(John 4:34; cf. Hebrews 10:7). His
resolve was based on a sense of urgency: “We must work the works of him who
sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work” (John 9:4).
This discipline enabled Jesus to be
able to say as his ministry drew to a close, “I glorified you on earth by
finishing the work that you gave me to do.
So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I
had in your presence before the world existed...It is finished” (John 17:4, 5;
19:30). In times when selfishness and
narcissism abound, it is important to emphasize that in self discipline, “Christ
did not please himself”(Romans 15:3). We,
like Jesus, must be dedicated to God’s will for us, realize its urgency, and
see it through to the finish.
We Must Strive to Live Disciplined Lives, As Paul
Lived.
Paul had his priorities in
order. He said, “Beloved, I do not
consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what
lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of
the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13, 14). He was the very epitome of Christian self
mastery, as his words in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 bear out: “Do you not know that
in a race the runners all compete, but only one receives the prize? Run in such
a way that you may win it. Athletes
exercise self-control in all things; they do it to receive a perishable wreath,
but we an imperishable one. So I do not run aimlessly, nor do I box as though
beating the air; but I punish my body and enslave it, so that after proclaiming
to others I myself should not be disqualified.”
A man bought a new hunting dog and
tried him out. He picked up the trail of
a bear and the hunter thought “I really have a hunting dog, now!” Then he stopped, sniffed the ground and
headed after a deer, a rabbit, and finally stopped at the hole of a field mouse!
How does that compare with some who would claim to be running the
Christian race?
Paul knew the essentiality of a daily
discipline. “I die every day!” he said
in 1 Corinthians 15:31. What is he
suggesting if not that he knew that every day he might die, that he continually prepared for death, that
he continually lived as though he would die that day, and that he worked as
though that day would be his last? His
Lord and ours had made it plain that only daily discipline will enable one to
be faithful. “Then he said to them all, “If
any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their
cross daily and follow me. For those who
want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake
will save it. What does it profit them
if they gain the whole world, but lose or forfeit themselves?” (Luke 9:23-25).
Each day the Christian is prepared to give one’s life for Christ, should
discipleship call for death, and if not, each day requires giving one’s life in
service to Christ.
We Must Strive to Live Disciplined Lives, because
Only Disciplined LIVES Lead to LIFE.
The worldly seek freedom, no restraint, no
demands (i.e., no discipline), especially in religion, and if they be worldly
Christians, they still expect to inherit eternal life. Jesus, however, comes using imperatives. For example, he says, “Very truly, I tell
you, no one can see the
Life makes exacting demands which
call for discipline! As science and
technology call for accuracy in math and mechanics, etc., so the Christian life
is lived with precision. The same
precision that is observed in sports is demanded in the Christian life. For instance, a baseball hit out of the park
is not a home run if as little as one inch foul! Does this not remind us of James’
dictum, “For whoever keeps the whole law
but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it” (James 2:10)? Be advised that though the gospel is not
legalism, it does not eliminate the need for discipline. We are saved by grace,
not so that we can be undisciplined, but so that we might be more disciplined.
So it is with life and especially eternal life. Are we willing to pay the price of discipline or not? “Any old way” will produce death for us without our even striving for it, but only the narrow door and the narrow way will lead to life. Which will you choose?
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