To Err is Human.....But Who Likes Making Mistakes?

I spend many hours of my day at my computer; typing my daily posts, providing technical editing for other writers and giving encouragement to friends on social media. With all that typing, editing and publishing, I installed a writing app called "Grammarly". Grammarly's app makes sure my messages, documents, and social media posts are clear and mistake-free. The app highlights the incorrect spelling or punctuation and I just tap on it, and whoa la -- everything is corrected. Within seconds, I've made my corrections and I'm good to go. What a blessing it is, considering the old days when we used a manual or electric typewriter. If we made mistakes with our typing then, we used correcting paper or correcting ink. It was laborious, and often difficult to make corrections if a space was needed between words. Whew! We've come a long way, Baby!

And isn’t that true in our lives, as well? As much as we try to do better, it seems our nature is prone to emotional, physical and spiritual mistakes. Maybe it has to do with the company we're keeping, some unhealthy habits, some compromising of our ethics and integrity, or literally missing the mark. Little mistakes can really slow us down and even limit some of the blessings God wants to give us. I remember back in my early learning-to-type days when I made so many mistakes because I wasn't focusing or I was concentrating more on speed than being mistake-free. Now, at this stage of my life, I really want to be as mistake-free as possible, but like what I heard someone say "I do really well with living mistake-free, but then I get out of bed and meet up with people, and then I need the "correcting fluid" to clean up my mistakes.

I was being challenged by my own post by purposing to live a mistake-free life. I know that's just not possible. As long as we're in these earth suits, we'll be prone to missing the mark. But here's the good news: God is so quick to forgive us when we come to Him, and like the "correcting fluid" I used, "Wite-Out", God applies His "white-out" to our mistakes and not only covers them, but He makes us white as snow. "Come now, let's settle this," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool." Isaiah 1:18 His forgiveness really is divine.

I've come to know that focusing my attention on getting it right in my heart, attitude and life makes for a beautiful page in this chapter and book of my life. My daily prayers are “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” Psalm 51:10 and "Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O God!" Psalm 19:4

Disciple, Discipled, Discipling

My daughter completed writing another book that has been sent off to the publisher. I was grateful to be her technical writer, going through the manuscript with a “fine tooth comb” to review it for clarity, punctuation, grammar, and content. With the wisdom she learned from her own life experiences, she wrote as a disciple of Christ to help her readers avoid some of her pitfalls and gain the wisdom she learned. So, in essence, she, as a disciple of Christ is discipling others to become disciples of Christ, also.

In my editing, I wrestled with her using discipled or discipling as an “action verb” because it isn’t described in the dictionary as a verb. I know she used it as the “action of making disciples” and shortened it to “discipling”, but my “Grammarly” app that spellchecks the contents, kept rejecting it as an "unknown" word.

Using “disciple” as a verb indicates the action Jesus commanded when he told us to “make disciples” of all nations. And when Staci used it as “discipling” people, she was describing how we obey Jesus by “making disciples.” Whew! I’m sure you can understand the angst I had to not using it as a verb because even as I type this post, Grammarly has highlighted it as an "incorrect" word eight times. But, for the emphasis Staci desired to make her point, it was necessary. She won the debate by keeping the word as a noun and a verb.

But there is a deeper question underlying the issue of grammar that created my angst. I was resolute against it but now, I find myself asking myself. “Does the way I’m wanting to use the word “disciple” indicate something about my heart? About my preferences? Do I prefer the noun of being a disciple or the verb of “discipling” aka making disciples?

Maybe I’m more comfortable with “disciple” as a noun because it puts the onus on me to be a “daily” disciple of Christ. I just need to “measure up” in my devotion and love for Him in what I say, how I live my life day-to-day, being His good girl, keeping His good rules, maintaining my Christian status, speaking good, not evil of others, and being an example of a follower of Christ.

It’s a whole other thing for “disciple” to become an action verb where there is the activity of discipleship directed toward others by obeying Jesus' command in Matthew 28:19 to "go and make disciples of all nations." It’s obvious in my “age bracket” (35 and up – LOL!) that we engage our own discipleship well, but we are aloof to those younger than us who need encouragement. We are more comfortable with being a disciple than making disciples.

I also contend that if we shift the use of “disciple” from a noun to a verb, we may get more comfortable with the activity of “making disciples” than the state of “being a disciple and literally following Jesus, being in intimate relationship with Him”. We could spend our lives investing in our relationships with others, but neglect the most important relationship of all, the one with Jesus Himself.

So back to my dilemma in using a word in a published book that isn’t in the dictionary. I hear God saying to me what He said in my post yesterday. “You are worried about too many things that matter so little. Say, ‘Oh well’, and embrace “discipled and discipling” as verbs and “disciple” as a noun. Just live out both senses of the word if you desire to do discipleship well. Take your personal discipleship with me seriously as well as the discipleship of others to help them connect to Me and the Body of Christ. You are my “disciple”. Now go into all the world and “disciple” others to follow me, too.” Dear Lord, I sure do hope the next question I have for you DOESN’T involve grammar! Amen."