Daring Discipleship

There’s a song running through my mind, an old song that suggests a basic philosophy about life. Not that I’m proposing this worldview. It’s just cluttering up my limited mind space. You will recognize people who have adopted this way of looking at life by a particular gesture they use very naturally. The shoulder shrug. You’ll remember the song: “…I asked my father, what will I be? Will I be handsome? Will I be rich? Here’s what he said to me: Whatever will be, will be…” Shrug.

Now, that shrug can mean several things, like “how would I know?” Or, “it’s not for us to know.” Or, “life is out of our control.” Or, “just roll with the punches.” It sounds an awful lot like resignation to a perceived reality. But turn the page and let me remind us about some other old words that come from a different mind and heart The man I’m thinking of said, basically, align your life with God so that when hard times come along you will have strength to carry on; choose to act humbly with all life around you; seek out justice instead of hoping that somebody else will; show mercy to everyone; make life choices on the basis of thoughtful ethics and morality; work for peace…work, don’t shrug your shoulders and sigh: “What will be, will be.”

But then, to align your life with the God of Jesus is not an invitation to inertia; it is a call to shape life by turning principles into practices. The day is upon us when the answer to our children’s and grandchildren’s question: “What will the future be like? What will I be?” cannot be a shrug of the shoulders and the vacant comment: “Sorry, love, but what will be, will be.”

Jesus did not call people to sign up and sit down. Sometimes the docile lamb following the shepherd needs to be a daring disciple who declares and does the right, the just, and the merciful. Without counting the cost.

I can’t think of a better time than now. Can you?