It’s been a while since I passed on an Oswald Chambers quote from my rector, Father Dave Robinson of St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church. He’s been slacking but I forgive him (because Jesus says I have to).
The title of this reflection is “The Conditions of Discipleship,” the July 2nd reading at My Utmost for His Highest. It is based on Luke 14:26-27, 33. I reproduced the second part of that entry below (paragraph divisions are mine.)
The Christian life is a life characterized by true and spontaneous creativity. Consequently, a disciple is subject to the same charge that was leveled against Jesus Christ, namely, the charge of inconsistency.
But Jesus Christ was always consistent in His relationship to God, and a Christian must be consistent in his relationship to the life of the Son of God in him, not consistent to strict, unyielding doctrines.
People pour themselves into their own doctrines, and God has to blast them out of their preconceived ideas before they can become devoted to Jesus Christ.
I think Chambers’s point is wise and needs little clarification: a “consistent” doctrinal system should never be confused with a consistent relationship with God. In fact, one’s doctrinal system may need to be “blasted” in order to cultivate that relationship.
