An Eye Single to the Glory of God

I have been pondering on the subject of discipleship for a while, which is why I was excited to read An Eye Single to the Glory of God by Robert L. Millet. This book is subtitled, "Reflections on the cost of discipleship." What an accurate subtitle! Being a true disciple of the Savior Jesus Christ is no cakewalk on Easy Street. I confess that at some points in the book I began to feel very discouraged and I wondered if I could ever be a true disciple. Millet does not sugar coat the life of a disciple. He is very direct in explaining what the Savior expects of us.

At one point, exactly when I was feeling most overwhelmed, the author changed my perspective. It is almost like he knew how I was feeling. He talks about reactions to the cost of discipleship, and how some people consider the cost to be too great. But when we think about what our salvation cost God the Father, and definitely what it cost Jesus Christ, how can we complain? How can we say we are being asked to give too much when they gave everything?

Most of the time, when we think the cost is too high, it is because we have placed the greatest value on things of a telestial nature. The foolishness in doing so is that everything of a telestial nature will not and cannot endure. When Christ returns, the earth with receive a paradisaical glory, or in other words, a terrestrial glory. That will later be followed by a celestial glory. In all truthfulness, discipleship demands that we relinquish our love of telestial things only to prevent us from deep sorrow later on when these things cannot endure.

The book also gives helpful indicators to allow us to see where we are on the path to discipleship. One of these is unexpected challenges. When we are surprised by something, our true nature shows in our reaction. For at least a split second, we are stripped of any mask we are wearing. This will allow us to see whether or not we are truly charitable at the core, or if we are merely pretending to be. Another great indicator is genuine peace. If we can feel peace, then we know we are on the right path, because peace is a foretaste of the blessings we will inherit if we endure as faithful disciples.