rMag

Surrounded The Only Good Disciple

David Ketter

I’m a walking dead man. No, seriously, I am. I am not alive. What you are reading now are the meditations of a man who does not have a life of his own. I am not my own person, I have no rights of my own, and for all that they might tell you, I am not a free man. How did I come to be in this state? Why aren’t people crying out for my liberty? Frankly, I don’t want their freedom. I don’t want their rights. But the “why” of that is a completely different question. For the moment, let me tell you how I came into this position.

My Friend Josh

It all started with this guy named Josh. Josh isn’t anything special to look at. Average guy, average weight, average height, you name it. Despite all that, however, Josh has a far-from-average view of life. As far as he’s concerned, he was born to die. Never mind his own life or desires. He’s suicidal in an atypical kind of way. He doesn’t want to die for selfish reasons. He just wants to die so his friends can have the best life they can possibly have. As far as Josh is concerned, it’s worth dying if they’ll have that.

I remember when I first met Josh. In my naivete, I pretended to understand that what he was doing made sense. After all, who wouldn’t die for their friends, if it came down to it? I had missed the point, though. Josh hadn’t come to die “if it came down to it.” Josh decided to die because it was the only way that his friends wouldn’t live in misery. He was their friend specifically to take that burden away from them, not for any other.

The natural reaction for me was definitely more along the lines of “What planet are you from?!” So I did some investigating, wanting to discover everything I could about this guy. Josh was born to a very devout, religious family in the southern part of the country during an economic crisis. Because of troubles with the political elements in the area, they arranged to move out of the country for a few years, and went still further south. When they returned to the country, however, they found that some of the same political groups were still in charge, so they relocated to the north.

That’s something of a cultural shift, as you can imagine: to move from an entirely southern, religious culture to a northern culture where people aren’t nearly so devout and there is a great deal more diversity in the population’s values. Josh’s family lived in a small village on the outskirts of a very corrupt city. Their neighbors were ordinary people with a commitment to their religious heritage. Josh’s dad worked in construction, and sent Josh to the local church school for training and education. He was the pastor’s prize student, demonstrating insight far beyond his peers in memorizing whole works of religious literature and excelling in their interpretation. Some seminary professors and big-shot pastors expressed interest in him, probably seeking to have him prepare for teaching and ministry at the best religious school in the country.

But no, Josh wouldn’t do it. He stuck with his family and worked with his dad in the family business. At least, that’s what he did until he came to full adulthood. Once he got to that point, he believed that God was calling him into the ministry, to work with and encourage people to seek God’s face. Yet at the same time, his desire for them to come to God was countered by the recognition that they are stuck in horrible, miserable lives with no escape. His conclusion, then, was that they could only have a shot at attaining the goodness that is available if he died.

Pause and consider this for a moment: here’s a man who wants to die – not for selfish reasons – but for this strange idea that, somehow, if he dies, his friends will have the good life. Josh is so confident that this will work that I have often wondered whether or not he’s crazy – especially when I think about who his friends are. Josh has never been part of the “in-crowd,” and those types don’t tend to hang out with him, unless there’s no one else around. Josh decided to pick friends from the outcasts – the kids from broken homes, the drug addicts, the girls with bad reputations, and the poor guys that you can tell buy all their clothes from the Salvation Army.

These kids don’t have much in life that would honestly be worth dying for. So what’s the deal with Josh wanting to die for this stuff? Frankly, I don’t know. I don’t understand it, and I don’t hope to ever see the logic behind it, but I can definitely say I’m glad that I can call Josh my friend.

Josh pursued this ministry for three years. It was amazing. People were given hope. They were encouraged. They got their lives in order. Everything looked like it could only get better, until one day I was informed that Josh had been murdered. Some sleazy local officials had killed him. He had been very critical of their crooked methods and the injustices that they enacted among the people they were sworn to protect and care for.

Because of his popularity with the bottom rungs of society, however, and because people were starting to listen to his condemnation of these officials, the politicians connived some charges against Josh: conspiracy to commit treason, disturbing the peace, and tax evasion. The judge wasn’t sold on the charges, but gave into their demands because he was spineless. So Josh was taken away to be sentenced.

Instead, the politicians had him lynched. It was a sad, sad day – the day that Josh died. The world seemed darker…empty…without meaning. And yet there was a legacy left behind in all of this: Josh had determined to die for his friends to give them a new life, a fresh and renewed start. No matter the personal cost, he had achieved his goal.

The Saving Story

If you’ve recognized the scenario and everything that’s going on with what I just related about Josh, you will recall that such is not the end of the story. What has just been related to you is truly the story of Jesus Christ. On the third day following his crucifixion (“lynching”), God raised him from the dead in power and glory, giving him authority over all things. Because of that victory, we have assurance of eternal fellowship with God. Unfortunately, we as Christians have gained a comfortable familiarity with the reality of God’s grace shown to us on the Cross. We talk about Jesus’ crucifixion and sacrifice as if it was the weather or the morning sudoku puzzle. Its significance and, truthfully, the challenge it gives us are far too often forgotten.

Throughout the telling of this story, one nagging question should have been present: “Why does Josh want to die for his friends?” The Gospel of John tells us that “[g]reater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13 ESV). As Paul tells Timothy, this love is

…the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel…. (2 Timothy 1:8-10 ESV)

It is for this love that I have become a dead man. The apostles of old considered it an honor to be a slave to Christ, and we too should follow their example. In this humble role we are to participate in the Gospel. We should be eager to lay down our lives for our friends, to see them come alive to the Gospel of Jesus, to encourage that flame. We should be eager to kill our wants and desires, to put ourselves last in our priorities so that God may be glorified.

I would encourage you and ask you to consider this: walk with me. Fight with me to overcome our selfishness and self-indulgence. Fight with me to counsel, to pray with, to give up precious time in our own lives, to help and support others – Christians and non-Christians alike. Pursue the wisdom of God and read His Word to speak to and love on those you encounter. Ask yourself who you’re living for, and how you’re proving your claim. It will look different for everyone according to their gifts, talents, passions, and who they are interacting with. Yet in all, remember that to be a disciple is to be like our Master. With Him, the primary goal of this mission is to glorify the Father. Amen.