The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life In God

by Dallas Willard

The second thing for us to do if we are to make apprentices to Jesus is to intend to make disciples. This is now a familiar theme, of central importance. It must be our conscious objective, consciously implemented, to bring others to the point where they are daily learning from Jesus how to live their actual lives as he would live them if he were they. That implemented intention would soon transform everything among professing Christians as we know them. For example, much time is spent among Christians trying to smooth over hurt feelings and even deep wounds, given and received, and to get people to stop being angry, retaliatory, and unforgiving. But suppose, instead, we devoted our time to inspiring and enabling Christians and others to be people who are not offendable and not angry and who are forgiving as a matter of course. “Great peace,” the psalmist says, “have they who love Thy law. Nothing trips them up” (Ps. 119:165). To intentionally make disciples is to open the doorway for people to become like that. That is why it is such a great gift to humankind.