You are personally invited to an adventure. The invitation comes from Jesus: “Follow me!” That simple.
The adventure is the way of Jesus, discipleship after Jesus.
Discipleship: That’s a churchy word, isn’t it? That wasn’t always the case. In the ancient world, a disciple was a student of an expert. Normal people were disciples. So if Jesus invites us to be disciples, he invites us to be learners, students, apprentices, and he is the teacher.
I have this sneaking suspicion that all of the big issues of life–finding real happiness, finding real love, making a difference in the world, belonging to something important–all of these come back to this invitation of Jesus. Come, follow me.
So I want to take the next couple of months and explore how we practice this. We’ll start with the basic assumption that Jesus invites us. Where will following Jesus lead you in your classes next semester? In your roommates and dormmates? In your job? In your romantic relationships? Sometimes I wonder if following Jesus is like following the white rabbit down the rabbit hole in Alice in Wonderland.
Maybe you’ve already started this adventure. Maybe it all sounds like a great idea but you have yet to put one foot in front of the other. Now is a great time to start.
When I think of this adventure of discipleship after Jesus, I think of Bilbo Baggins’ words as he sets out in the opening pages of The Fellowship of the Ring:
The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began,
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet,
And whither then? I cannot say.
Will you adventure on this road of Jesus with me?
Fiftyeight 
