I really want to know how Jesus would have us be communal in faith with such individuals, and wish the Gospels gave some examples of what I am talking about. I don’t see any.

You’re probably pretty lost already and may be deciding to surf on to some other site, but the hearty may just choose to read on! Good luck! Here’s my current stab at this theologically:

The only debt, according to Paul, is to love one another. This is non-negotiable. We can’t try to bargain for another responsibility, or find a “reason” to ignore the debt or consider it non-existent. No one can be disqualified from our love.

Loving others is a debt that I owe precisely because it can be repaid to everyone no matter their disposition or willingness, receptivity to being loved or obstinate rejection. But discipleship, on the other hand, is a collaborative endeavor.

Discipleship begins with willingness from the disciple. The extent of my discipling of some individuals remains, and may always be, only at that first step of asking for their willingness.

A particularly hard part of asking for willingness is that some appear to lack the capacity to be honest with themselves, not the willingness to be honest, but the very ability. They automatically tell me whatever they believe I want to hear rather than what is honestly inside them. I don’t think this is deceptive on their part . . . they simply are not aware enough and inwardly cognizant of their own thoughts, feelings, will, and inner life, so instead they simply reflect back to me whatever I might say to them. They can’t honestly tell me what is inside because they don’t know. They may know bits and pieces, but there is no whole - no single person inside.

Discipleship, learning and growing into the lifestyle of Jesus, is impossible for these people. There is not enough of an inwardly whole and interrelated person to teach, but rather a mess of disconnected thoughts, emotions, actions, desires, and experiences rattling around inside a single physical body. There is not an integrated person to speak to with any type of consistency.

I find that I can talk to a fragmented person and dialogue with one set of their thoughts, but that is not integrated with their other thoughts, much less related to their emotions or in dialogue with their will. Of course, if I ask, “do you want to be a disciple of Jesus and learn his way of life” the response will be “yes”. But if I were to ask, “what do you deeply desire” I might get anything from “a smoke” to “a meaningful life” depending on the moment.

So I am back to what we followers of Jesus should do in being a blessing to this world. Including, loving, listening, and valuing fragmented people is part of the debt Paul identifies. I think it is the meaning of loving fragmented people. However, discipling is impossible.

I know this sounds bleak, but I think it is reality. Sometimes I need to remember that my only debt is to love. Not everyone can embark on the journey of discipleship. Some live in the noise of their own unconnected parts, from which I pray God will rescue them by his love and grace.

Lest you think I am being condescending, these same fragmented individuals may do some of the most glorious deeds of goodness and kindness among us. I have no doubt that they have faith, hope, and love that may very well outstrip my own. Having the capacity to be a discipled to the way of Jesus gives me that responsibility, but I makes me no better.