This is an excerpt from my retreat journal in July that shows what life is like as a free disciple:
A disciple who is not concerned in any circumstance with how he is perceived, judged, or discounted has incarnated the very identity spoken from His Father to him. Nothing disturbs him. He is not concerned with pleasing, inspiring, or disturbing since his closeness to Jesus reminds him of his identity and gives him absolute courage to speak and live as Jesus compels him to. This is freedom. God makes us as tools. When that tool (such as a screwdriver) has a concern of its own (such a splintering handle), it disrupts the work it was meant to do- drive a screw. Here, self-concern or concern for self-preservation actually inhibits the vocation, and even more, the divine work being done through his yes.
