The Art of Discipline (1)
And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. Luke 9:23 NASB
Wishes – How sincerely do you want to be His follower? What intensity do you put into your effort? How important is He to you? The translation of this Greek verb might suggest a strong desire, but that wouldn’t be enough. The verb is thelo. We know that both boulomai and thelo both mean “to wish or desire.” The difference is that boulomai means to desire and plan something but not necessarily to carry it out while thelo means not only to desire but to accomplish, to make it happen. When Yeshua’s words are translated into Greek they attempt to capture the execution of this intention. It is not enough to want to follow. In order to follow one must actually make it happen!
Of course, Yeshua did not speak these words in Greek so when we search for the proper Hebraic expression we come to hephets. This verb means, “to delight, to take pleasure in, to have favor” as in Jeremiah 9:24. But we must note that in the LXX this word becomes associated with acts of the will. In Hebrew it is simply about finding pleasure in something or someone (compare Isaiah 62:4 where God finds pleasure in His people). Does this suggest that the translator of Yeshua’s Hebrew makes the expression harder than the original? Perhaps not, given the remaining verse, but it does suggest that personal intensity and undeterred commitment may not be as necessary as we think. It’s quite possible that the first step in discipline is simply the hope of finding delight. What is necessary is the subsequent action, not the initial psychological state of mind. In other words, while the translation into Greek may be warranted because of the idea of denial, perhaps we read too much Greek into the text when we shift the meaning from seeking delight to expressed intention and execution. Maybe we are taking our concepts of personal fervor and necessary performance and adding them to the Hebraic idea. Maybe all that is really necessary at the beginning is wanting to feel good.
If this is the case, then Yeshua’s statement is far less stringent than we usually imagine. After all, most human beings desire to feel pleasure. Perhaps that’s all that is needed to begin this process because it is a process, not a static state of mind. Do you want to feel better? Do you want to discover delight? Do you seek pleasure? Certainly so! And if you seek pleasure in Yeshua, then there is something you must do, not something you must think! Before we examine what this action really is, we should note that the desire for delight is expressed in rabbinic language—“to come after me.” The real opening question is not, “Are you fully committed to Yeshua?” or “Would you do anything to serve your Lord?” The real opening question is, “Do you want to enjoy following Him?” “Do you desire delight in your walk behind His lead?” Apparently that is quite enough to get the ball rolling.
Most of us read this verse in English translation but we read the idea in Greek. We think that until we have some intense spiritual condition to follow Yeshua, we won’t be able to complete the required step of denial. Consequently, we give up before we try. We examine our personal zeal and find it wanting. We just haven’t reached a high enough spiritual plane. Our focus is internal, demanding of ourselves that we become fully committed before we encounter self-denial. But as most of us discover, this state of religious transcendence is too much for us. We miss the Hebraic point of view by converting the idea to a psychological condition. In Hebrew all that is required is the hoped-for delight of His presence.
So how are you doing today? Are you beating yourself up because you aren’t filled with an unshakeable longing for purity? Or do you just want to feel good around Him?
Topical Index: desire, thelo, hephets, Luke 9:23
Perhaps this is one of the reasons I waffle back and forth in my walk, the desire to sacrifice all to put aside my flesh very often is only skin deep and never makes it to the follow through.
There have been periods of time when I am almost consumed with delight in His presence and His word and others when I just read, know what I think I am supposed to do and just am unable to pull it off.
When my youngest son was a junior in high school I heard Yaweh speak to my heart that if I would commit to the first half hour of my day to get in His word I would know Him in a way I had never known possible before. Well my son is 26 now, the habit has stuck and do I know Him better? Yes and know, do I still spend my first half hour of the day in His word? Yes, and most the time I spend more and do I run late for work? Yes! Most the time. But the point is I desire to delight in Him, and I want Him to delight in me as well.
Maybe the focus has been wrong because more than delighting in Him I tend to fuss at me for not getting this denying me part too good.
I find very interesting the coming ‘contradiction’ then, of seeking feel-good but having to deny myself and also take up a cross (which the audience knew it was a heave/painful deed?). I wonder what are the next learnings from (2) tomorrow 🙂
You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of Joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Ps 16:11 (NKJV)
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Our Father knows what motivates us. When He called Abram out of Ur He promised him land, a great name, a nation of offspring, blessings received and blessings sent out from him. All he had to do was walk away from his former life. HMMMMM
(Please) Do
~ I delight to do Your will ~ These were the words of our Master/Teacher. Not, “it is my duty” or “it would be a drudgery”- No, He said “it is my pleasure Father, to please you.” And isn’t this the purest form of love? for us to seek the delight of the “other?” What would be pleasing unto our Father – this very day or this very moment? Borrowing from Nike (or Jack Bauer!) – “just do it!” And? as for those “parts” of the Bible we may not comprehend – there are plenty of others to keep us quite busy! Fr’instance- just the command to “love one another” or “serve one another in love” is a challenge -is it not? (“Love your enemies?”)
– What is the “will of God”. It is, as stripped down and as simple as I know how to do – it is what God wants! Not what I want- (not my will)- but what He wants! Adam,- “do not eat that fruit!”- Comprende? Adam, -don’t do it! Reminds me of when I was a wee tot and my mother warned me not to kiss the coffeepot! (they don’t call me “hotlips” for nuthin’!) Had I obeyed- much pain would have been avoided. (yes, children, please do- listen, and obey your parents!
The will of God is not as “mysterious” as it would seem. The will of God, (the wisdom of God) is fully revealed for “whosoever will” – (for whosoever wants to) in the word of God. He is not out to hide or conceal Himself, but rather to reveal Himself to those who are (first) willing to do whatever He asks. Remember Abraham?
Remember (na) ? “Na” – was the hidden Hebrew “please.” Abraham, (na) ‘please’ take your son- your only son- whom you love and sacrifice him unto Me! Abraham, (na) please DO as I ask! Was this an easy task? No. But look at the mulitplied rewards when Abraham made the (final) choice to obey God.
What do the scriptures say concerning “obedience?” Much.
~ And Samuel said, “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen- hearken-(“shema!”) than the fat of rams. ~ (1 Samuel 15.22)
Shema? ooh, now it’s gettin’ good! To “shema” is to what? It is to (both) listen and? – (yep, -that’s right!) – to obey. And again ~ we are to be doers of the word and NOT hearers only! ~ And? ~ If you love Me- keep my commandments! ~ And? ~ whatever He says unto you- DO IT!! ~
Trust (God knows what He is doing!) and obey. Two final thoughts.
Who (he inquired) was the most “obedient” Man- ever to have lived? Who kept the Torah-(the instructions of YHWH) “perfectly?” Only ONE that I know of. What are the blessings of (His) obedience?
And #2- What father among us does not “delight” in obedient children?
~ I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth ~ (3 John 1.4)
Revelation 4:12 “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and or thy pleasure they are and were created.”
When I went and asked myself for what purpose OF MINE did my existence matter, the answer was obvious: my existence is important to ME for a whole host of ‘reasons’, but the actual correct reason – the one that makes all the rest of those reasons effective, is, from my standpoint, to get my relationship with my Creator and His creation restored.
But then the question came up: did HE have a ‘reason’, (other than sharing mine with me) to create me? When I searched that whole Word, I found just one: the verse quoted above from Revelation. I was created for His pleasure. Then I saw that if I was created in His image, then the need for pleasure must also be hard-wired in, too. Which led me to an interesting conclusion. If I am, by nature, a seeker of pleasure, then I must go look for it where I am told it must be. If I go look “at His right hand” for that pleasure, what (or Who), do I find at the right hand of God? I see that Jesus is the ultimate Source of pleasure for us.
But we have certainly “sought out many inventions”! I firmly believe that sin would not tempt us if it did not promise us pleasure. I think sin must bank on the fact that we must have pleasure. I think I can go a little further: science has recently concluded that we are hard-wired for love; that all our systems are set up for the giving and receiving of love. We just tend to go looking for it in all the wrong places! Sin promises us love – the experience of love- just without requiring the conditions for love. We must have it or we die; so we fall. Love is the ultimate pleasure, is it not? If we were tempted by anything else; if the tempter would, just once, promise us what he really delivers, would we even slow down to listen? Isn’t this why he must lie?