Launching off from a quote on prayer by A. J. Gossip happened upon a great article; [url=http://www.ldolphin.org/disciple.html]Discipleship is not Seeker-Friendly
The gist of it could be said to develop from;
[i]Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
The "if" and "and" of it all.
[i]We have all been inoculated with Christianity, and are never likely to take it seriously now! You put some of the virus of some dreadful illness into a man's arm, and there is a little itchiness, some scratchiness, a slight discomfort -- disagreeable, no doubt, but not the fever of the real disease, the turning and the tossing, and the ebbing strength. And we have all been inoculated with Christianity, more or less. We are on Christ's side, we wish him well, we hope that He will win, and we are even prepared to do something for Him, provided, of course, that He is reasonable, and does not make too much of an upset among our cozy comforts and our customary ways. But there is not the passion of zeal, and the burning enthusiasm, and the eagerness of self-sacrifice, of the real faith that changes character and wins the world.
A. J. Gossip, [i]From The Edge of the Crowd
The article itself from Lambert Dolphin who is a tremendous saint and to quote the Ravenhillesque "[i]Of a colossal intellect[url=http://www.ldolphin.org/]LAMBERT DOLPHIN'S LIBRARY
Seems we are overdue for a thread on discipleship. Hope to utilize this as a starting point.