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From Luke’s Journal Sept 2025 | Vol. 30 No. 2 | Success-Failure

More than a decade ago, I was invited to a dental mission conference. My role was to speak on community oral health as an alternative to the clinical model for missional care and outreach.

During the question-and-answer period, a missionary dentist serving in a clinical setting in Kazakhstan challenged the evangelistic effectiveness of the community model: “How many people have become Christians due to your community oral health program in Nepal?”  It took me longer than I wanted to formulate a response, since it never dawned on me to even count. After an embarrassingly long pause, I said, “If only one person accepted the gift of eternal life by inviting Jesus to be their Lord and Saviour, I would be filled with joy.” I may not have given a satisfactory answer since I conflated the question with another question I was pondering: “If by being obedient to God’s calling to serve Him in Nepal, no one or only one person accepted Jesus as Lord and Saviour, how successful are you as a missionary?”

The `one person’ who came to mind was my dear mother. In 1991, when I informed my non-Christian mother that Ruth (my wife) and I were called by God to serve Him and the Nepalese people, that I was leaving my successful dental practice, a comfortable home, a cabin at a lake, and all my embellishments and benefits of success; my mother was quite upset and ostracised us.  She returned all our photos and gifts which we had given her, and would not respond to our phone calls. My mother had sacrificed so that I could be a dentist and enjoy the benefits of the profession. She was aghast that we were throwing it all away. We left for Nepal with heavy hearts. Many Christians in different parts of the world prayed for my mother’s salvation. Two years later, when we returned home on furlough, we were filled with joy as we witnessed my mother’s baptism.

What are the metrics of a successful Christian, of a church, or a Christian organisation? Is it the number of conversions? Growth in the size of a congregation? How much do we give or sacrifice?

Other benchmarks for success on the internet include being a good steward of God’s gifts, a godly character, advancing God’s kingdom, serving others, being filled with the Holy Spirit, bearing fruit for God and knowing and doing God’s will.

Could The Fruit Of The Spirit Be A Possible Criterion Of Success?

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23 NLT).

These nine virtues in totality provide a comprehensive image of the character of Christ in the life of a Christian. Love (agape), the highest form of the different kinds of love expressed in the Greek language, is the first of the attributes of the fruit of the Spirit. The Christian who bears the fruit of faithfulness embodies all nine attributes. However, the greatest of the attributes and the most excellent of the Spiritual gifts is love (1 Corinthians 13).

How About Compassion?

While compassion is not explicitly named as a fruit of the Spirit, it is a virtue closely related to several of the virtues of the fruit of the Spirit, particularly love, kindness, gentleness and goodness. Paul encouraged believers to personify God’s compassionate character (Colossians 3:12; 2 Corinthians 1:3).

It is God’s nature to be compassionate (Psalm 86:15; Psalm 103:8; Psalm 112:4; Psalm 145:8-9; Lamentations 3:22-23). We notice God’s tender heart and love in the story of the prodigal son: “But while he was a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion” (Luke 15:20 NIV). We witness Jesus’ compassionate action as he wept at the tomb of his friend, Lazarus (John 11: 33 – 35); as He healed the sick, the lame, the blind; as He fed the hungry; as He observed the crowd who were like sheep without a shepherd; and as He expressed his grief over Jerusalem’s rejection of him and his desire to protect its children. Truly, Immanuel, “God- with- us”, is ever present and provides consolation when we experience pain, suffering, distress, sorrow or heartache. Jesus also urged His disciples to be like His Abba, “You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate” (Luke 6:36 NLT).

Trevor Hudson, author and pastor, highlights compassion as the ultimate characteristic of followers of Jesus:

“The acid test of discipleship is not how much we pray, or how much we know the Bible, or whether we exercise the gifts of the Spirit, or even how involved we are in the struggle for justice. All these things are vitally important and have a crucial place in our following of Jesus.  The acid test of whether we are becoming mature as a Christ follower is to deny ourselves and to die to selfishness so that the fruit of divine compassion grows within us.”¹

Do you desire to be overflowing with agape love and the fruit of the Spirit?  If this is what you desire, I would like to suggest seeking to be transformed, to receive a new heart and a renewed spirit (Ezekiel 36:26, Psalm 51:10, 2 Corinthians 5:17). 

A New Heart And A Renewed Spirit Begins With Dying

“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” (John 12:24 ESV).

Similar to the metamorphosis of a caterpillar into a butterfly, this is a biblical metaphor of transformation: the un-forming of the kernel of wheat must occur by falling to the ground and ceasing to exist as a kernel of wheat before it can be reformed into a shaft of wheat which ultimately bears plentiful fruit. 

Jesus used this metaphor to explain His impending death and resurrection, and subsequent salvation and abundant new life (a new creation) through the spread of the Gospel (2 Corinthians 5:17). For those who desire to follow Him more closely, there is a deeper interpretation and understanding of the importance of dying to self: dying to self-centeredness, to self-absorption, to selfish thoughts and priorities, and to the preservation of self. To bear the fruit of the Spirit and to claim the abundant life as a new creation in Christ, we must deny ourselves, take up our cross daily and make Jesus the centre of our lives (Luke 9:23-24). We also surrender or die to aspects of our lives that prevent us from becoming more loving and Christ-like (eg. beliefs, attitudes, behaviour, and negative emotions including fear or worry) and seek healing for our spiritual wounds. Otherwise, we end up bearing corrupted fruit.

Thomas Merton warns:

“He who attempts to act and do things for others or for the world without deepening his own self-understanding, freedom, integrity and capacity to love, will not have anything to give others. He will communicate to them nothing but the contagion of his own obsessions, his aggressiveness, his ego-centered ambitions, his delusions about ends and means, his doctrinaire prejudices and ideas.”²

The ‘new creation’ of biblical transformation is a lifelong pilgrimage to be fully human and Christ-like, bearing the image of God’s Son.

“For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.” Romans 8:29 NIV

“And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. “ (2 Corinthians 3:18 NIV).

“My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you.” (Galatians 4:19 NIV).

Some would submit that when we believe with our hearts the truth of the gospel and that we were crucified with Christ and raised up with Him as God’s beloved child, we are already a new creation in Christ’s likeness at that very moment; so that “we too might walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:1-5).  Even though our old self has been crucified with Christ, our old beliefs and behaviours remain alive and active.  We are born again still believing and behaving the same way prior to being a new creation; therefore, what needs to be transformed by the renewing of the mind is our belief and behaviour (Romans 12:2). Our old beliefs and behaviours are deeply ingrained, and it takes intentional surrender to Christ daily (Luke 9:23). Though we are new creations (2 Corinthians 5:17), our sinful nature still influences us. Paul himself struggled with this (Romans 7:15-25).

In the metamorphosis of the caterpillar to a beautiful butterfly, the process is not due to the effort or power of the caterpillar other than the eating and the formation of the chrysalis. The caterpillar stops eating and enters the pupal stage, where the body un-forms while abiding in a pool of proteins and enzymes and reforms into a butterfly. This process is controlled by the caterpillar’s God-given genes and not by any conscious effort or power from the caterpillar itself.

Transformation Of The Heart

Biblical transformation starts with transformation of the heart before transformation of the mind.   The Apostle Paul’s exhortation to be “transformed by the renewing of the mind” (Romans 12:2 ESV), is widely quoted. However, it is unfortunate that many Christians equate transformation of the mind with the acquisition of more knowledge in order to be transformed. Paul’s call “to be renewed in the spirit of your minds” (Ephesian 4:22-24 ESV) may be more important than the former. The Greek word for renewing in Romans 12:2 means a continual renewal or transformation. The Greek phrase in Ephesians 4:23, suggests a deeper, foundational renewal of the spirit of the mind; referring to the inner disposition (core orientation of the heart and mind), not the intellect. Many biblical scholars have concluded that the renewed spirit of the mind is foundational for the renewing of the mind.  A heart (spirit) changed by God results in a mind that increasingly aligns with His truth due to the Holy Spirit’s conviction of the truth in the heart.^3,4 

We are all created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27), but because of sin, our likeness to God is corrupted, but through God’s grace and love, transformation to His image is desirable pursuit. Heart transformation begins when we declare with our lips that Jesus is Lord and “believe with your heart that God raised Him from the dead” (Romans 10:9-11 NIV).

We can intellectually agree with biblical truths and not be transformed. The Pharisees had strong intellectual knowledge of Scripture, but their hearts were distant from God’s (Matthew 15:8). James 2:19 notes that even demons believe intellectually. When truth is deeply believed at the heart level, it compels action. When heart-belief internalises biblical truths to the point of shaping our identity and our character, subsequent behaviour change ensues. Obedience, love, and the other virtues of the fruit of the Spirit, along with compassion, flow freely and abundantly like streams of living water from a transformed heart. 

“Obedience, love, and the other virtues of the fruit of the Spirit, along with compassion, flow freely and abundantly like streams of living water from a transformed heart.” 

‘Performing’ the fruit of the Spirit through human striving, or by behaviour modification rather than bearing the fruit of the Spirit, can only result in short-term success, and failure often leads to disappointment, guilt, self-righteousness and judgment of others. The fruit of the Spirit is the natural outcome of the indwelling of Christ, and we experience it as a gift of God’s grace. It is His fruit manifest in us. Imitating or acting like Jesus falls short of authentic Christ-likeness. Transformation is the outcome of the work that God does in our hearts (Philippians 1:6). Similar to the caterpillar ‘abiding’ in its transformative fluids, spiritual transformation occurs when we are ‘abiding’ in God’s transformative words (truths), presence and love.

Abiding To Bear Fruit

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5 NIV).

The keyword or theme in John 15:1-17 is ‘remaining’ or ‘abiding’, which occurs eleven times throughout this passage. The vineyard illustration portrays our close relationship with Jesus (the vine) that is essential for bearing fruit.  No fruit can be borne by us (branches) due to our efforts alone and can only be borne when we remain in Jesus and eagerly seek to know Jesus intimately, love Him more deeply,  and follow Him more closely.¹ This passage directs us to an inward pilgrimage of abiding in God’s word, in God’s love and in the fellowship of Jesus. The outward pilgrimage is abiding in community and beyond. 

Abiding in God’s word

“If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” (John 15:7 NIV).

Here are some ways that we can abide in God’s words for transformation of the heart, rather than reading the word intellectually: keeping company with Jesus in the Gospels; Lectio Divina; and “eating God’s words.”

A friend of mine asked me what discipleship book I would recommend. Without any hesitation, I recommended the Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. There is no greater ‘discipler’ than Jesus.  Trevor Hudson⁵ recommends “keeping company with Jesus, with Jesus in the Gospels” by reading one Gospel through in one sitting, and then reading short passages over a period of time. All the while, you are one of His disciples, keeping company with Jesus.

Trevor Hudson also suggested, “Try to understand His feelings about God, notice the way He relates to people, listen to the message He brings, explore His views about material things and watch what He does. Consider always what meaning this would hold for you.”⁵ 

Lectio Divina

Lectio Divina^{6, 7} (Divine Reading) is a traditional Christian practice of prayerful Scripture reading, meditation, and contemplation. It is a way to engage with the Bible in a spiritually enriching manner. It involves the following:^6,7

• Lectio (Reading): Sitting quietly to read a passage from the Bible multiple times; paying attention to the words or phrases that stand out to you.
• Meditation: Engaging with the text imaginatively; ruminating on the words and what it might mean to your life.
• Oratio (Prayer): Responding to God by conversing from your heart.
• Contemplatio (Comtemplation): Quietly dwell in God’s presence; allowing His love and truth to fill you.

Similar to Lectio Divina, Eugene Peterson⁸ encouraged reading passages in the Bible in a slow, deliberate, and meditative manner, much like chewing, digesting, and ruminating on food. Peterson suggested that the first step in engaging with Scripture is to take in the words, to “chew” on them, and to allow the language and imagery to sink in and to extract their meaning and significance. Once the words have been taken in, allow them to “digest”, to settle into our minds and hearts. This involves reflecting on the text, considering its implications, and allowing the words to challenge and transform our thoughts, feelings, and actions, rather than rushing through the words. Finally, “ruminate” on the words, much like a cow chews its cud. This involves a slow, repetitive, and meditative process of returning to the text, reconsidering its meaning, and allowing it to shape and form our spirit, allowing the words to become a source of wisdom, guidance, and spiritual nourishment. 

Abiding In God’s Love

”As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.”  (John 15:9 NIV).

Contemplative prayer⁹ is a powerful way to deepen our relationship with God. It moves beyond intellectual understanding to a personal encounter with His love. By practicing stillness, solitude, listening, and surrendering, we open ourselves to transformation in Christ.

Contemplative prayer is a form of deep, silent prayer that fosters intimacy with God beyond words or structured petitions. It is often described as “resting in God”—a movement from active speaking to abiding and receptive listening. This prayer focuses on being present with God, experiencing His love, and allowing His presence to transform our hearts.^10,11

Rooted in Scripture, contemplative prayer reflects Psalm 46:10 NIV, “Be still, and know that I am God”, which in Hebrew means “relax and know by experience that I am the true God”. This “contemplative knowing” of God and His love is a knowing that moves beyond intellect and belief.¹² It aligns with Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 6:6 NIV, “But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”

It is through the daily practice of contemplative prayer that I experience God’s love for me as His beloved and where my love for God has deepened. Through contemplative prayer, the Holy Spirit has revealed deep-seated attitudes, such as envy, pride and worry, which needed surrendering. I have also experienced physical, spiritual and emotional healing while in silent communion with God or shortly thereafter. 

“God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.” (1 John 4:16 NIV).

Abiding In The Friendship Of Jesus

“No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.” (John 15:15 NIV).

“Creation was God’s plan for friendship. We were not brought into existence simply so that we could worship God. Nor were we created simply for service. Human beings exist because of God’s desire for companionship. We are the fruit of God’s love reaching out toward creatures who share enough similarity that a relationship is possible. Humans were created for this intimate communion with their head-over-heels-in-love Creator God.”¹³

I have welcomed Jesus as my Lord and my Saviour, but I have had hesitations about opening my heart to befriend Jesus.  This changed recently when I was meditating on the passage in John 21:15-19. I imagined myself as Peter when Jesus asked him three times whether he loved Jesus. I felt and heard the tenderness and love in Jesus’ voice, and also the hurt in Peter’s heart, and also in my heart. The first two times when Jesus asked Peter if he loved Him, Jesus used ‘agapas’ , which is the verb form of ‘agape’ (unconditional sacrificial love), but the third time Jesus used the Greek word ‘phileis’, meaning ‘to love as a friend’.  I knew with my heart that Jesus was directing the question to me, “Robert, do you love me as a friend?” I replied, “You know how much I love you as my Saviour and my Lord, and now I love you as my friend”. 

“For decades, I have had difficulty believing and accepting Jesus’s invitation to be my friend.”

For decades, I have had difficulty believing and accepting Jesus’s invitation to be my friend. Partly due to my awe and inconceivable notion that the creator of heaven and earth, my Lord, would befriend me.  However, the most challenging barrier stemmed from my bad experiences with authority figures who had physically and emotionally inflicted pain on me. These hurts, in part, had negatively affected my willingness to accept Jesus’ friendship, even though I had forgiven these authority figures years ago. During a period of contemplative prayer, the Holy Spirit exposed those painful memories hidden in the inner recesses of my heart:

When I was in elementary school, a teacher witnessed me throwing a snowball at the school brick wall. The teacher said that throwing snowballs within the school grounds was against the school rules and that he was going to punish me for breaking the rule. He showed no mercy, whacking me five times on each palm with a heavy, thick strap of rubber/leather to inflict maximum pain. On another occasion, as a dental undergraduate, a professor approached my desk and loomed over me. He asked me a question, and when I was not able to provide a suitable answer, he began to hurl a relentless barrage of questions at me, over and over again, humiliating me in front of all my classmates. 

When the Spirit opened my mind and my heart to reliving these painful memories, Jesus was present as a compassionate friend, tenderly consoling me in the midst of my shame. He took my shame to the cross and covered me with His ‘phileis’. My eyes were moist with tears, and my heart was filled with love and peace. 

Thank you, Lord!

“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 15:13 NIV).

As an intimate companion, Jesus provides enduring comfort, counsel, direction, fellowship and listens to my heart’s concerns, doubts and desires.  I carry a small olive wood cross in my pocket, and on the inside of my cell phone case, I have clipped a small metallic bookmark cross, so that every time I open the phone case or touch the olive cross, I attend to Jesus and commune with my ever-present companion.

Abiding In Community

”My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” (John 15:12 NIV).

Transformation in the Christian life happens not in isolation but through relationships within a Christ-centred community. God designed believers to grow in faith, character, and love through our interactions with others and to support one another in our spiritual growth, bearing each other’s burdens and cultivating love, compassion, humility, patience, forgiveness, and grace.  

In the early church, church leaders used the image of a wheel to illustrate that spiritual growth is not just individual but communal (Dorotheus of Gaza, c. 505–565 AD)¹⁴. Imagine a wheel with spokes leading from the outer rim to the hub. The hub represents God, while the spokes represent individual believers moving toward God. The rim of the wheel represents God’s love. As each spoke moves closer to the centre (God), it also moves closer to the other spokes. In the same way, as we grow in our love for God, we grow in love for our brothers and sisters, and others beyond the Christian community.

Community isn’t just an optional part of the Christian life.

It is essential for a transformed life.

Conclusion

Using any criterion, whether it be the fruit of the Spirit or obedience, measuring success in the Christian life is problematic because the standards of God’s kingdom and what He desires differ from the world’s view of success. It is not about accomplishing but of being and becoming one with God through Christ and His love (John 17:20-23 NIV). It is about the intimate love relationship between Abba God and His children; of “grasping how deep and wide is the love of Christ” (Ephesians 3:18 NIV); and of loving Abba God “with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength” (Mark 12:30 NIV). The inward pilgrimage of abiding also enables us to love ourselves so that we can love others better, and bear the fruit of the Spirit, which is compassionate, free-flowing, pure, authentic, desirable and attractive. 

The reality is that transformation is not completed in our lifetime on this earth but in heaven, where Jesus “will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body” (Philippians 3:20-21 NIV). While abiding in “this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life” (2 Corinthians 5:4 ESV). “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day” (2 Corinthians 4:16 NIV). “For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known” (1 Corinthians 13:12 NIV).

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