Practicing the Way: Be with Jesus. Become like him. Do as he did.

by John Mark Comer

There is no problem in human life that apprenticeship to Jesus cannot solve.

Jesus did not invite people to convert to Christianity. He didn’t even call people to become Christians (keep reading…); he invited people to apprentice under him into a whole new way of living. To be transformed.

But whatever translation you adopt—disciple, apprentice, practitioner, student, follower—let me state the obvious: Talmid is a noun, not a verb.[23]

If disciple is something that is done to you (a verb),[25] then that puts the onus of responsibility for your spiritual formation on someone else, like your pastor, church, or mentor. But if disciple is a noun—if it’s someone you are or are not—then no one can “disciple” you but Rabbi Jesus himself.

Jesus is not looking for converts to Christianity; he’s looking for apprentices in the kingdom of God.

“Saying yes to Jesus” does not an apprentice make.

Saint Ignatius of Loyola once called God “Love loving.”[31] In doing so, he spoke for the millions of contemplatives down through history who have found sitting in the quiet and letting God love them to be the single most joyful experience this side of eternity; indeed, it is a kind of foretaste of eternity.

The most important thing that happens between God and the human soul is to love and to be loved.[32]

The call to apprentice under Jesus is a call not to do more but to do less.

To “remind yourself that you are going to die” is to remind yourself to live for your eulogy, not your résumé.

Christlikeness is possible, but it’s not natural. In fact, the gravity and inertia of life will likely take you in the opposite direction. “Small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it,” as Jesus said.[24]

So, in the Gospels, when you read that Jesus “saved” someone and then read that he “healed” someone, you’re often reading the exact same word. Jesus intentionally blurred the line between salvation and healing.

Ironically, the same sin that keeps us from relationship with God can be healed only by God.

most people think they will grow to be more like Jesus through trying hard rather than training hard, when the exact opposite is true.

Jesus lived in a culture where a lot of people were hostile toward him. How did he invite them into his kingdom? One meal at a time…

If you want more of God, give him away.

Thomas Kelly: The Loving Presence does not burden us equally with all things, but considerately puts upon each of us just a few central tasks, as emphatic responsibilities. For each of us these special undertakings are our share in the joyous burdens of love. We cannot die on every cross, nor are we expected to.[67]

John Ortberg quote I keep coming back to is this: You must arrange your days so that you are experiencing deep contentment, joy, and confidence in your everyday life with God.[2]

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to a Rule of Life, because there is no one-size-fits-all approach to spiritual formation. There isn’t a “right” way to craft a Rule of Life any more than there is a “right” way to pray. Jesus came to set us free by living according to his Way, not to enslave us to routine, ritual, and religion.

Love is the metric of spiritual maturity, not discipline.

A discipline is any activity I can do by direct effort that will eventually enable me to do what I currently cannot do by direct effort.

John Ortberg has observed, “We generally sin alone, but we heal together.”[48]