But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

  - 1 Timothy 6.11, 12

Is it not impossible for any polished accomplishment or exercise to be attained without discipline? Or can discipline be acquired without bitterness? Therefore, since these things are so, let us make ready our mind, not for joy, not for security, as the Sage says, but for temptations and trials, for griefs and toils.

  - Columbanus, Sermon IV, Irish, 7th century

Discipline
In the Christian life, “righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness” constitute the vision that stirs and moves us, the “end game” that sets our worldview apart from every other way of life. Because those great and noble virtues are all Jesus and His Kingdom and glory, to which we have been called by God (1 Thess. 2.12).

At the same time, “pursue” summarizes what Columbanus explained as the disciplined life. We cannot gain Christ and His Kingdom without discipline, and discipline cannot “be acquired without bitterness”.

But “bitterness” and the sufferings required for life in the Kingdom (Acts 14.22) do not feature large in the life of “discipleship” as most Christians today “pursue” it.

We contemporary Christians are, by and large, an undisciplined community. We want to take our Christianity in stride, along with all the other “good things” of life, and we don’t want to have to exert ourselves too much to be followers of the Man of Sorrows.

Our vision is paltry; our disciplines are scant; and the outcomes of love for God and neighbor that ought to be our stock and trade are largely hit-and-miss.

We cannot “lay hold” on the fullness of life eternal from the couch via remote control.

Growing in the faith of Jesus is a struggle, a “good fight” to which all are called who take His Name upon them. The Lord condemned those church members who “hate discipline” (Ps. 50.17 ESV), yet we think we can avoid or minimize discipline and still find favor in His eyes?

I know this doesn’t apply to everyone, but if the shoe fits, be bold to wear it.

God has called us to search the Scriptures daily, pray without ceasing, fast and seek His face in solitude, and press on to realize the upward prize of the high calling which is ours in Christ Jesus (Phil. 3.14).

He has commanded us to resist temptation and pursue holiness in the fear of God (2 Cor. 7.1).

Do not neglect this struggle, nor seek to make it an easy road. It is not.

This is a good fight, and a real one, and it bears abundant fruit for the Kingdom for all those who pursue it as though their lives depended on it.

Whom the Lord loves, He disciplines; who love the Lord discipline themselves to seek Him, know Him, and serve Him with all their hearts, minds, consciences, and strengths.

There are no bench-sitters and no spectators in the Kingdom.

Only fighters.

Psalm 2.9-12 (Agincourt: “O Love, How Deep, How Broad, How High”)
To Christ the Lord be given all who humbly embrace Him and on Him call.
Be wise, be warned: His judgment comes to break the prideful, sinful ones.

Rejoice with fear in Jesus’ grace, and worship before His exalted face!
Beware His anger and judgment grim: How blest are all who rest in Him!

Lord, help me to take up the challenge of a disciplined life! 

New at www.ailbe.org
A couple of changes to introduce. First, Patrick’s story of his calling and ministry, which has been running under the Scriptorium column will now finish up under the Celtic Legacy column. We’re just a little bit into this exciting first-person account, so it’s not too late to jump in and follow along. In the Scriptorium column we begin a verse-by-verse exposition of Ecclesiastes, on of the most important Biblical books for our day. Each week the seven installments in this series are bundled into a study suitable for personal or group use. You can click this link to get your free PDF download of Ecclesiastes 1: Vanity of Vanities.

We will be announcing some additional changes over the next few weeks, so stay tuned. Also, following the meeting of our Board of Overseers on June 16, we will make available the goals for Ministry Year 2015/16 of The Fellowship of Ailbe. I hope you’ll request a copy of them and use them to guide your prayers for our growing work.

Need a jump-start on your spiritual disciplines? Order a copy of The Way of Hope from our online store, and you’ll be able to establish a base-line and begin a new stage in your calling to fight the good fight.

And don’t forget to pray for your pastor and other shepherds, that they might have the discipline needed to lead you more deeply into the Kingdom of God.

T. M. Moore, Principal
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.