Becoming Better Disciples

Last week in my 8th grade religious ed class, we were discussing discipleship and how to grow closer to Christ.  The students came up with a fairly good list of the things that are necessary to deepen our faith.  The conversation we had led me to one thought.  We know exactly what we should be doing to grow closer to Jesus and live as better disciples, yet, why do we so often not do those things?

There are so many distractions in our lives and excuses we make.  It’s so easy to attribute lack of prayer time to busyness or being too tired.  While these may seem like valid excuses and God still loves us, the truth is, these excuses usually mean that we are not prioritizing well or making good use of our time.  This is a process and a journey that takes time.  It is easy to become discouraged, but we must not give up.  God sees our efforts and knows that becoming a better disciple is something that we need to work on each day.

I’ve always wanted to be one of those people who prayed the rosary every day.  It was easy for me to admire those people, while at the same time, telling myself that it would take too much effort and dedication.  I often told myself that maybe I would start praying the rosary every day, but “not yet” or “maybe later.”  A few weeks ago at my Bible study, one of the girls said something that challenged and changed my thoughts.  She talked about how she could not make excuses to not pray the rosary because she has a 15 minute drive to work each morning.  After sitting with that for a few days, I decided that I too could pray a rosary on the way to or from work each day, as I have a 20+ minute drive.  I often do not “feel” like praying or would really rather listen to music or a podcast, but I have taken those first steps.  It is a work-in-progress.

That is how the spiritual life is.  A lot of the excuses we have for not trying to grow closer to Jesus may come down to one thing.  When we look below the surface, we will find that it may be laziness, lack of motivation, and overall, that we “just don’t feel like it.”  When we work to limit the distractions, prioritize better, and schedule dedicated time for prayer and other activities that help us in our faith, our lives will be much more fulfilling.  Many times, we may not feel like praying (or any other thing that we should do to strengthen our faith) and we might want to choose to do other things instead.  This is when we need to remind ourselves that being a disciple is not about what we want, but rather, what we need.  And that is to know and love Christ deeply and to follow Him wholeheartedly.

Jesus, we want to become better disciples.  Help us to do the things we need to do in order to grow closer to you.  Fill us with the desire to know you more and love you more deeply, even when we don’t feel like it.  Give us the dedication and commitment that we need to follow your ways and live a life that is for you alone.  Take away the trivial things which are distractions in our lives.  Help us focus on you.  Amen.