Reflections on Discipleship

I am preparing to teach a course on Evangelism and Discipleship at Guido Bible Institute in Metter, so I have been trying to absorb some "new to me" books on those two topics to help enrich the class lectures. I came across a book by N.T. Wright entitled Following Jesus: Biblical Reflections on Discipleship and soaked it up in about a week. It is essentially a collection of sermons/lectures he has given around this theme. As with anything I have read by Wright I was challenged to expand my understanding of what it means to follow Jesus. I was also encouraged by what God is doing in and through me, as I am shaped on the anvil of Christ. Below are two comments that have really stuck with me.

Let's make no mistake about it; until you learn to live without fear you won't find it easy to follow Jesus. p. 67

The answer to temptation is to find out, perhaps painfully and over a long period, what it is about you that is at the moment out of shape, distorted, in pain. Then one may begin to find out, again often painfully, how it is that God longs to help you to get what is distorted back into focus; to get what is crooked back into shape; to get what is bruised and hurt back into health. p. 88