The Object of Discipline (7)

And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works… Hebrews 10.24

A team effort
The Scriptures are clear that following Jesus Christ requires a team effort. Like athletics or most vocations, we all work better, we all improve and practice our disciplines more consistently, when we’re working as part of a team. The many “one another” passages of the New Testament make this abundantly clear: love one another, bear one another’s burdens, pray for one another, teach and admonish one another, encourage one another, and so forth.

Simply put, discipleship requires companionship in the Lord. We need other believers to help us along the way in following Jesus, and this pertains to the disciplining of our bodies as well. We all need people in our lives to help us specifically with this high calling of bringing the members of our bodies into submission to Christ, so that we are able to do the good works for which He has redeemed us.

We all need such people in our lives, people who know what we’re working on, what we’re struggling with, and what opportunities for using our bodies daily arise, and who will celebrate God’s victories in and through us as we are used of the Lord in His service. These are true friends, soul friends, not simply because we enjoy their presence or find them interesting or funny, but because they want us to succeed as followers of Christ. We know they will pray for us, encourage us, share their own triumphs and struggles with us, and help us, however they may, to become true and consistent servants of the Lord.

Making relationships work
How do such relationships work?

Of course, they require time spent together getting to know one another and sharing freely and honestly about our struggles and aspirations. Soul friends work hard to understand one another. They listen well and help one another think through their challenges, needs, hopes, and concerns. Soul friends will walk together in a common path of growth by reading books or studying Scripture together. Regular prayer together and for one another will also be an aspect of such a relationship.

It can also be helpful in disciplining your body for soul friends to pursue some ministry activity together – leading a Bible study, reaching out to lost friends or colleagues, or serving in some capacity at your church. In and through all the different aspects of their relationship, soul friends must invite and encourage free and open conversation about the Lord and His Kingdom.

Where to look
Celtic Christians are rightly appreciated for their widespread and faithful use of the discipline of anam cara, or, the soul friend. St. Brigid, an early 6^th century Celtic leader, believed that everybody should have at least one such friend in his life. She said that “a man without a soul friend is like a body without a head.”

Our work at disciplining our bodies to serve Christ by true words and good works will proceed much more effectively if we have some friends who know what we’re seeking, share with us in the struggle, support us by their prayers and encouragement, and provide an example to whom we can look in our walk with the Lord.

So, where can we find a person to be such a soul friend?

If you’re married, your spouse is the place to start. Focusing together on your walk with and work for the Lord Jesus can provide a strong bond and foundation for building a lasting, loving marriage.

Beyond that, you might need another person or two in your life to fulfill this high and holy calling. Look for someone with similar interests, someone who is as serious as you about disciplining your body for good works. Make sure your prospective soul friend understands the commitment of time and devotion that will be required, and agree on some working protocol for growing in your relationship together.

Just make sure that you keep your soul relationships above reproach and beyond suspicion. You don’t want your good works to be looked at or talked about by others as potentially a context for evil. It’s best, therefore, that such relationships involve men with men and women with women.

Get a soul friend – someone to watch over you in the Lord’s Name – and discover how such a relationship can improve and enliven your effort to discipline your body for serving Christ.

Next steps: Do you have a soul friend? Would you be willing to be a soul friend to another believer? Share this article with a few friends, and try to identify at least one of them for an ongoing soul-friendship.

T. M. Moore

This week’s study, The Object of Discipline, is part 1 of a 7-part series on The Disciplined Life, and is available as a free download.

Kingdom discipline begins in Kingdom vision, and that vision is centered on Jesus Christ exalted. T. M. has prepared a series of meditations on the glorious vision of Christ, based on Scripture and insights from Celtic Christians. Order your copy of Be Thou My Vision by clicking here.

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.