One large truth keeps dropping in front of my face ever since the death of philosopher and author Dallas Willard last week.
I’ve read numerous tributes by friends and associates of Willard’s and they keep bringing up this one large truth. I had just one conversation with Dallas Willard years ago, but it confirmed to me that he was driven by this one large truth. Many of my friends who have promoted spiritual formation in the last twenty years have also been speaking about this one large truth since Willard’s death.
John Stott spoke about this one large truth in his last public address given in the summer of 2007, saying that this truth is the sum of the Christian life.
The one large truth I am speaking about is this: the whole purpose of discipleship is for us to become more and more like Jesus.
This we already know. But just think of the consequences if we actually made this one large truth a singular focus, the one thing that really matters, in our lives.
* Our discussions about discipleship would focus primarily on who we are, and what we do would never be an end in itself;
* We wouldn’t be accused of crass bigotry when we are in honest discussions about same-sex marriage;
* People who are lost would see qualities of personhood they would be attracted to;
* We would be offering a gospel that truly makes a difference in our communities and the world—right here, right now;
* We would need fewer books and seminars on how to be good husbands or wives, moms or dads, because the fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control—would shape all our actions and reactions;
* Christian witness would never be about joining our club, but gaining one’s life;
* We would have free and open faith discussions with Muslims and Hindus and atheists because our exchanges would be about the pursuit of truth, not power or control;
* Rancor would sicken us, we’d have no interest in gossip, we wouldn’t have the time or interest to do probing inquiries to figure out who is “in” and who is “out”;
* Prayer, worship, Scripture reading, and other disciplines would be real-time interactions with God, not means to certain ends.
So if this one large truth is true, and it it really is so large, why is it not sufficient for us? Why are our efforts at discipleship askew and ineffective? How is it that we can misbehave so badly, act in ways that are so un-Christlike, and not see our behavior as undermining the very thing we say we stand for? I ask myself this because even on a good day I slip so easily into interactions that would make me shame-faced if Jesus walked in the room.
Is it that we always want to improve on God’s simple things? Is it that we consider love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control insufficient? Is it that we want to do things for which we can take credit?
Is it that when we start a new week or a new day the voices in our ears that dominate belong to the people we want to please, the bosses we must impress, the “important” people we want to like us, the problem people we are in never-ending dances with?
What a shame. When God has made his desires for our lives entirely unambiguous, it is a crime when we make other things more important. Maybe even idolatrous. When God shows us one large truth, we must keep it large in our vision.
Here is where I must say I cannot point fingers at other people—that there is no one who more disappoints me than me. That is true—but insufficient. Like everyone else, I cannot live swinging between overconfidence and paralyzing discouragement. Nothing much comes of zig-zag lives. Somehow we need the steadying power of focus on Christ.
Whether you have benefited from the thoughts of Dallas Willard or not, this much is true: he certainly helped us all by focussing on one large truth, which is this (in the words of another author, John Stott): “God wants His people to become like Christ. Christlikeness is the will of God for the people of God.”
Read John Stott’s final public address.
Receive Mel Lawrenz’s weekly article, The Brook Letter.
Follow along with The Influence Project.
What do you think?
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For a study of the fruit of the Spirit, love joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control, and spiritual disciplines, see Patterns: Ways to Develop a God-Filled Life [click].
AMEN !!!!! Trust Jesus, so simple. It’s easy to say, so hard to do. The simple truth is, that for me, I have been trying to please God instead of trusting him. This has changed! May daily walk has changed by allowing God, by the power of the Holy Spirit to manifest himself through me rather than me doing what I think is Gods plan/purpose (pleasing).
Thank you Mel for this message of truth. It hit me right in the heart.
PS. Thank you also for your book “Spiritual Influence” GREAT BOOK!
Mel, thanks for the double reminder from two great Christian statesmen, Willard and Stott, that God’s ultimate purpose for all of us is that we “be like Christ.” I need the regular reminder of such a pure and simple purpose. Blessings!
Mel, I couldn’t agree more. What a great reminder to all of us of just keeping the main thing, the main thing.
I have been challenged by the writings of Dallas Willard & John Stott over the years, as they consistently pointed us back to Jesus.
I told a husband & wife once who were going through some difficulties, that if they wanted to work through this, then they needed to start looking more like Jesus. They almost laughed.
I think that’s our issue on so many levels. When we wonder how to handle all the scenarios you laid out there, Mel, we often just laugh when we think “all we have to do is look like Jesus.” We think there’s more to it. But there’s not.
May your email today remind each of us of that very principle – let’s just become more like Christ by allowing His Life to penetrate ours, changing us from the inside out; by living from our new nature and not our old one.
Thanks for your wisdom and thoughts on that today!
Glad you agree, Jim, Lee, and Steve. Question is: why is this singular focus not leading the way?
That’s it in a nutshell.
Mel,
I stumbled across your book ‘Spiritual Influence’ last year, and thoroughly enjoyed it.
You ask a very good question in this article. For some time now I have wondered …
If pastors were to pass a transcript of their sermons for the past year on to someone who is not a Christian, and asked him to read them – what would he say has been the major themes of their sermons for the last year? What themes would a Christian identify? How many sermons would either find that focussed on Christ-likeness?
What would a years worth of sermon’s look like that focussed on helping people grow into Christ’s image within the context of their unique life situations?
Why is it so hard to creatively communicate one simple large truth week after week from the pulpit?
I ask this, because as you rightly point out every day I hear countless other voices. And other then the voice of the Holy Spirit – where else will I consistently hear every week someone calling me back to keep the main thing the main thing?
Seems as though we are easily deceived, and the story we’ve bought into puts me first with Christ as my servant. Every other narrative has to compete head to head with that and win. Odds are most won’t. Good news is one does occasionally and when it does the entire cosmos is tipped on its ear. Thanks Mel for choosing the right story and sticking with it. It has made a big difference.
Everything you said is very true! But you cannot force people to want to be like Christ! What makes up human beings is so many things. What did parents teach their children about being Christlike! Did they have devotions every day! Did they teach their children how to pray, worship and love his word? All these things have a great deal to do with who we are as christians when we become adults! The most important thing is for those who have wisdom to see, to pray for those who do not and to help others read the word! Preachers should read the word, and not try to add or expound on it, just read it to your people!! Have them read it out loud. Reading the word is the only way people are going to know Christ! Read what he says in Isaiah 44:6-8 He is God, there is no other like him, or will ever be! We need to help people to READ his word!! Spend time in his word!! If they get to know the God of the bible, believe me, they will fall in love with him and want to be like him!! They will not be able to be anything else but like him!! But they need to be influenced by him, like the way we are with movies and music and tv. Spending time in the word, churchs preaching the word! Christian musicians singing his word!!! HIS WORD IS WHAT WILL MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE!!! Not somebody else’s ideas’ of his word, or someones ideas for song!!I write music by the Lord and for the Lord, and its always a verse, or based on a verse from the bible!! Gods word is the only thing that can make a difference in us, the word became flesh and dwelt among us! The word was there at the beginning when HE created the universe!! He is his word, if we take his word into us, we will be taking HIM into us, and that will make us more like him!!! God help us all to have wisdom, understanding and knowledge from his word and his throne! Heaven knows we NEED it!!!
Dallas Willard has played a major role in the formation of my thinking about what it means to be a follower of Jesus and how that is lived out in my day to day life. I think a lot about how I can live and love like Jesus. God’s stated purpose for our lives is for us to be conformed to the image of Jesus.
Rom 8:29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers
It’s very humbling indeed to need to be reminded again of the simplicity yet powerful truth of the Gospel. Be like Jesus in everything we say and do!! That’s how we’ll reach the world for Christ. What a blessing, what peace it brings. Thanks so much for sharing exactly what I needed to hear