'Follow Me'

(from www.churchofscotland.org.uk)

At our most recent Path of Renewal Conferences, one of the things we considered was the call of Jesus to “Follow me.”
In some ways (though certainly not others) a vague call. We considered how it is often helpful in following that call and in helping others recognise their call to embrace vagueness. Vagueness allow us to be responsive and flexible.
This has always been an important element in the Path of Renewal movement. We accompany one another on a journey in which we discover what it is that Christ calls us to in each of our different contexts, both as the body of Christ together but also as individuals on whose lives Christ makes his call.
We went further than that, though, to look at discernment. How do we discern the specifics of the vagueness of the call, “Follow me”.
That, too, has been an important part of Path of Renewal - that we make space and take time to discern the uniqueness of God’s call in each place and for each follower. Making space and taking time are not easy when we are already part of busy communities of faith. Journeying together on Path of Renewal has proved how difficult it is to create the space required and the pressure that is around to maintain the busyness of being disciples. What we have learned anew is the vitality of spending time with God, not just speaking but listening deeply. And we’ve shared with one another the spiritual practices that help us and sustain us in that.
The vagueness of Christ's call is not accidental - it necessitates our walking closely with him, listening, being sure of what our immutable values are, our gospel imperatives, and being prepared and able to change everything else.
Following Christ demands that we are equipped with the same responsiveness with which Christ encountered those whom he met in all sorts of ways in so many places - staying close to Christ enables us to do that.
It is important, now more than ever, for disciples to embrace the tasks of discernment and relearn how we engage in that to enable us to be faithful, obedient and responsive to the call of Christ.