Do you ever think about all the words that envelope us or wonder how many we hear in an average day? Do we hear millions? Do you think they have any effect on us? What does the word discipleship mean to you? Some of us may instantly think of calling, service, work, mentorship, duty, obligation, accountability. Isn't it interesting how we all hear the same word, but we hear it so differently.
When I hear discipleship I hear relationship and I think of the ultimate rabbi, Jesus. What about his relationship to the Father? Was it based on what he read in the Old Testament or was it based on his devotion to the Father? What about his disciples? Was their relationship, is our relationship with Christ based on what Jesus had to say? Are we devoted to him because he loved others and loves us or by how he lived and how he died? Do words get too much credit? What we say is important, but the reality of what we say is in the testimony of our lives.
I was working in the green room yesterday at Rolling Hills Community Church during the memorial for Lake Oswego's Police Chief Dan Duncan. Friends and family spoke of their relationship with the chief and words like husband, father, friend, and mentor were used; all words I hear often.
I observed many things during the Chief's service. One in particular was that I was not moved so much by what each speaker said, as much as by how they said it. Folks who work for the police have to be very strong. Sure, they are people like you and me, but they are exposed to so much so frequently they have to learn to control their emotions, but I battled tears in the Green Room, not because of what they said, but how they said it.
Clearly this man impacted the lives of many and by what was said I learned that his impact was made in ways that are not beyond you or me. He made an emotional investment in his family, friends, and those he worked with and those he worked for. An emotional investment is not something that can be measured in a lab or qualified in a philosophical or psychological debate, but who will deny its reality?
That is what each speaker testified too, the emotional investment the Chief had made in them. They wanted others to know this man was a good and honorable person who cared about others, but none of the words were new to me. It wasn't what was said, it was how it was said.
I don't remember any speaker who did not struggle to suppress their tears. Seemingly stoic men in uniform with tear filled eyes, fighting back sniffles, and hiding their face for a moment behind a glove. I was reminded of the humanity of which we are all a part, not by what was said, but by how it was said.
I never heard the word discipleship yesterday, but I couldn't get it out of my mind. Once again I saw clearly that whatever religion or denomination we claim to belong to, whatever we say is true or not true, whatever we say we believe or don't believe will probably be forgotten. Maybe the words we say will get repeated again and again, just like we repeat the words we've read or heard, but the real impact each and every one of us have on this world is what we are willing to invest in one another.
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