Disciples: Devotion, Diligence, Discipline

If you took geometry in high school, you learned the difference between 2-D (two dimensional) and 3-D (three dimensional) geometry. In 2-D geometry, you can measure things in only two directions, just length and width. In 2-D geometry there are lines, rays, arcs, segments of lines, circles, squares, rectangles, etc. But there is no height nor depth in 2-D geometry. Therefore there are no cubes or spheres or cylinders in 2-D geometry. Those things exist only in 3-D geometry, where there is height and depth.

Many years ago I read a book called Flatland. It was a parable based on 2-D and 3-D geometry. Flatland was a 2-D world where only 2-D things existed. From what I can remember, some 3-D forms (spheres, cubes, and cylinders) visited the 2-D world of Flatland and tried to explain the 3-D world to the Flatlanders. But the Flatlanders, because of their 2-D existence, could only see the 3-D forms from a 2-D perspective. The spheres just looked like 2-D circles to the Flatlanders. The cubes just looked like 2-D squares. The cylinders just looked like 2-D rectangles. Or, if laid on their side with the top or bottom exposed, like 2-D circles. When the 3-D forms tried to tell the Flatlanders about the 3-D world, the Flatlanders thought they were crazy.

Flatland is a good parable that describes our 3-D existence as disciples of Yeshua/Jesus in this 2-D world. So let me ask you a question. Do you want to be a 2-D Flatlander, without height or depth, or do you want to be a 3-D disciple, with height and depth?

If you want to be a 3-D disciple, you will definitely experience some heights and depths. You will have ecstatic mountaintop experiences, and you will go through valleys of deep sorrow. But the Lord will be with you even in the valleys. Ezekiel beheld the glory of God by the river Chebar. Later, God called Ezekiel down to a valley. “Then I arose and went forth into the plain [bik’ah = ‘valley plain’]: and, behold, the glory of the LORD stood there, as the glory which I saw by the river Chebar” (Ezk. 3:23).

God’s glory is with us even in the valleys of sorrow. God gave Israel victory over the Syrians because the Syrians had said “the LORD is God of the hills, but he is not God of the valleys” (1 Kings 20:28). The Lord is with us even when we “walk through the valley of the shadow of death” (Ps. 23:4).

  If you want to be a 3-D disciple with height and depth, there are three things you must cultivate in your life: Devotion, Diligence, and Discipline. Let’s consider each of these in alphabetical order.

DEVOTION

Webster’s 1828 dictionary defines devotion as “1. the state of being dedicated, consecrated, or solemnly set apart for a particular purpose. 2. a solemn attention to the Supreme Being in worship; a yielding of the heart and affections to God, with reverence, faith and piety, in religious duties, particularly in prayer and meditation...”

Our English word devotion comes from Latin de and voveo. The prefix de- means “of” and voveo means “to vow.” Therefore devotion to the Lord involves a commitment, a conscious decision to follow the Lord and be His disciple.

This commitment is similar to a marriage vow. Devotion involves faithfulness and fidelity, just like in a marriage. If you have ever seen the famous painting Giovanni Arnolfini and His Bride by Jan van Eyck, you will notice a small dog standing at the feet of the bride and groom. When I studied art history in college, our professor told us that this painting, completed in 1434, actually functioned as a visual marriage contract, similar to a Jewish ketubah. The reason for including the dog, our professor said, is because dogs represent fidelity, a vital ingredient for a successful marriage.

Dogs are indeed an ideal symbol for fidelity. Why do you think “Fido” is a stereotypical name for dogs? Because dogs are faithful to their masters.

Our devotion to our Master Yeshua should be not only like the devotion of a bride to her husband, but also similar to the fidelity of a dog to its master.

The Hebrew word for dog is kelev. Where did that name come from? Adam gave names to the animals. Why did he call the dog kelev? Kelev can be seen as a blend of kol (“all”) and lev (“heart”). Perhaps when Adam looked at the dog, he realized that this particular animal was “all heart,” i.e., whole-hearted in its devotion to its master, so he called its name kelev.

In 1884, in a speech in the U.S. Senate, George Graham Vest said the following:

“The one absolutely unselfish friend that man can have in this selfish world, the one that never deserts him, the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous, is his dog... When all other friends desert, he remains.”

This speech is the source of the saying “If you want a friend in Washington, go buy a dog.”

Devotion means remaining faithful and loyal to the Lord, in whatever position He has placed you. Robert Frost wrote a short poem that eloquently expresses devotion:

The heart can think of no devotion greater than being shore to the ocean.

Holding the curve of one position, counting an endless repetition.

DILIGENCE

There are many Bible verses that speak about diligence, especially in Proverbs. “Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life” (Prov. 4:23). Here the Hebrew word for diligence is mishmeret, which refers to the protection and safeguarding of something that we cherish.

Other Hebrew words for diligence carry the ideas of eagerness, determination, ambition, etc. In Proverbs, the hand of the diligent maketh rich, the hand of the diligent shall bear rule, the diligent soul shall be made fat, etc.

After Peter reminds us that the heavens will be dissolved and the elements will melt with fervent heat, he tells us to “be diligent that ye may be found of Him in peace, without spot, and blameless” (2 Pet. 3:14).

Many times in the KJV when you see a verb followed by the word diligently, “diligently” is not a separate word. Diligence in Hebrew (as in English) is often expressed by simply doubling the verb to make the statement more emphatic, almost like using exclamation marks (which do not exist in the Hebrew Bible). Doubling a verb lets the hearer or the reader know that you are serious, you really mean business. “Go! Go!” “Work! Work!”

Hebrews 11:6 says “he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” If you want to be a 3-D disciple with depth and height, you must diligently seek the Lord. The Greek word used here means “to search out, investigate, crave, demand.” To diligently seek the Lord, you must have a hunger for spiritual truth. Beware of apathy. Apathy is the enemy of diligence.

One passage of Scripture that inspires me to diligently seek the Lord is Proverbs 2:1-5. “My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; so that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.”

Many times I have asked people this question. If you found out from a very reliable source that there was a chest full of gold coins buried somewhere in your yard, what would you do? You would get a shovel and start digging ASAP. You would diligently seek that gold until you found it.

In the pages of the Holy Scriptures and in the presence of the Holy Spirit, we have treasures far more precious than gold. We should be seeking those treasures more diligently than we would seek gold coins buried in our yard.

DISCIPLINE

Embedded in the word discipline is the word disciple. You cannot be a disciple without discipline.

Sometimes the word discipline refers to punishment for wrongdoing. Sometimes parents or teachers have to discipline children for their bad behavior. Many years ago I knew a little girl who took a fingernail clipper and snipped a tiny little piece of flesh off the edge of her pet hamster’s ear.

“Why did you do that?!” her mother asked.

“Because he bit me. He needed to be disciplined, Mother!” the girl said.

Then, of course, the little girl had to be disciplined by her mother.

Sometimes discipline refers to punishment, but more often the word is used in the context of teaching and training. Discipline includes things like orderliness, self control, consistency, temperance, rules, schedules, etc. In other words, things that undisciplined people dislike.

A serious athlete disciplines himself with habitual exercise to keep his body in shape, and with habitual practice to keep his athletic skills sharp. In a similar way, we should spend time in spiritual exercise by praying and studying Scripture.

Paul used this comparison of athletes in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27. “Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.”

Paul is saying here that he is not going to be ruled by his body and its fleshly lusts. He is going to be ruled by the Spirit, and show his body who’s the boss.

The first Adam let himself be ruled by the flesh instead of by the Spirit. The Last Adam, Yeshua, is reversing that. He is in the process of enabling His disciples to live in a realm where the spirit of man, united with the Spirit of God, will rule over the body and all its fleshly appetites. To live in this realm, we must be 3-D disciples whose lives are marked by Devotion, Diligence, and Discipline.

Living as 3-D disciples in this 2-D fallen world of Flatlanders will make us stick out. The Flatlanders may think we are crazy, but that okay. Maybe we can convince some of the Flatlanders to get some height and depth in their lives, so they can live in a 3-D world with us.

| DB