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Patience, Professors, Persevering, and the Plan of God.
education (Photo credit: Sean MacEntee)
10 You’ve been a good apprentice to me, a part of my teaching, my manner of life, direction, faith, steadiness, love, patience, 11 troubles, sufferings—suffering along with me in all the grief I had to put up with in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. And you also well know that God rescued me! 12 Anyone who wants to live all out for Christ is in for a lot of trouble; there’s no getting around it. 2 Timothy 3:10-12 (MSG)
Study. Study in earnest. If you are to be salt and light, you need knowledge, capability. Or do you imagine that an idle and lazy life will entitle you to receive infused knowledge? (1)
Recently, I chose to return to school. I have to admit some trepidation over this, I’ve never been the one to fit into most educational systems, I don’t care about the what as much as why, and that gets me in trouble at times.
My first class, two weeks in, I am struggling with the texts, and the line of thought which doesn’t going directly to the stated purpose of the course, or for that matter, to the reason I challenged and entered this program. As I was thinking last night – do I challenge the professor? Do I just drop out? Or do I trust God who opened this door, and dedicate the work to God, who makes it all possible?
The latter will be tough, it will challenge me in a way I do not like – it challenges my intellectual pride and my apathy when it comes to education without clear cut meaning. But that is perhaps where I need to be challenged the most – to do things in a disciplined way even though I don’t see the logic or reasoning. I’ve got to go through the motions, but seeing them, not just as make work, but rather as part of His plan.
We need to do this as followers of Christ as well. Maybe we don’t get why we go through the motions of liturgy, or why it is beneficial to go to Bible Study as well Sunday Church. We don’t get yet, why communion is so critical to our faith and our need to commune as often as possible. It may take some time to realize how precious the work of God is, when He baptizes a baby, or a 94 year old lady. We may know the Bible passages – we may be able to argue it intellectually, but there is something in the process of grasping the why… that takes it to a whole different level, that of our soul. That of instinctual trust, that of Christ transforming us, as we look to Him for the strength to do that which challenges us.
So pray for me inmy studies, that I could dedicate them to God, and do well… and pray for us all, as we struggle with God’s plan, not seeing His hand in it, but finding the strrength to persevere, because He is here.
Lord Have Mercy we pray!
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2010-11-02). The Way (Kindle Locations 868-870). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Related articles
- Meditating on God’s Love (justifiedandsinner.com)
- We must bear our cross….an powerful observation…. (justifiedandsinner.com)
- A Blog of/for the Tired and Wondering if it all Matters… (justifiedandsinner.com)
- Can we be this Holy? In the face of our “enemies”? (justifiedandsinner.com)
- Doesn’t God Care I am Tired? (justifiedandsinner.com)
Who should lead our churches? Evangelical Catholic Review #12
Crucifixion of Jesus -2011 (Photo credit: Striking Photography by Bo Insogna)
19 If the Lord Jesus is willing, I hope to send Timothy to you soon for a visit. Then he can cheer me up by telling me how you are getting along. 20 I have no one else like Timothy, who genuinely cares about your welfare. 21 All the others care only for themselves and not for what matters to Jesus Christ. 22 But you know how Timothy has proved himself. Like a son with his father, he has served with me in preaching the Good News. Philippians 2:19-22 (NLT)
Now may I who am myself an elder say a word to you my fellow-elders? I speak as one who actually saw Christ suffer, and as one who will share with you the glories that are to be unfolded to us. I urge you then to see that your “flock of God” is properly fed and cared for. Accept the responsibility of looking after them willingly and not because you feel you can’t get out of it, doing your work not for what you can make, but because you are really concerned for their well-being. You should aim not at being “little tin gods” but as examples of Christian living in the eyes of the flock committed to your charge. And then, when the chief shepherd reveals himself, you will receive that crown of glory which cannot fade. 1 Peter 5:1 (Phillips NT)
1. In his manner of life and his priestly ministry, does this man manifest a deep personal conversion to friendship with Jesus Christ? Has he made a deliberate, conscious, and irrevocable choice to follow Christ? Has he responded to Jesus’s question to the disciples, who were shocked by his command to eat of him, the Bread of Life—“ Do you also wish to go away?”— with Peter’s answer: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God” [John 6.67– 69]?
2. Does this priest take preaching and teaching as among his primary responsibilities? Does he preach clearly, biblically, and with conviction? Can he make the Church’s evangelical proposal to unbelievers? Can he, with charity and understanding, teach, and if necessary correct, Catholics who have embraced notions contrary to Scripture and apostolic tradition? How many converts has this man made? How many Christians of other communities has he brought into full communion with the Catholic Church? How many baptized pagans has he brought back into a fuller communion with the Church? (1)
I have been primarily dealing so far this month with the issue of leadership in the church.
We just elected those who will work beside me as the leaders of this congregation, for the next two years.
- I am in prayer about, and met with other district delegates last saturday, the national convention of our Synod next month
- I just finished a two day seminar, the third of four, of a program in pastoral leadership
- Above you see the passages for the two Bible Studies last night. The first one is our midweek Bible Study, the second for the Bible Study of my elders.
So, it is little surprise when I took up Wiegel’s book this morning, that the topic was his understanding of the new standards for the leaders (bishops) of his church, the Roman Catholic Church.
But what find admirable, and indeed would love to see in my own denomination, is these first two standards Weigel sets, as our own concerns. (replacing of course – Catholic Church, with LC-MS)
What would happen if the leaders of our churches were first men whose lives were formed by a deep friendship with Christ. Whose character displayed such Christ-likeness and the servants heart we see in both Paul’s description of Timothy, and in Peter’s encouragement to the elders. This is the nature of the men we should have leading us. Men whose devotion and adoration of God, their treasuring of the first commandment, is the hallmark of their life. If they were less guided by their own intelligence, their own wisdom, their own inner compass, than by the very kind of love that showed they experienced and reveled in the love of Christ?
What would happen, if the second dominant characteristic was that they could communicate this love of God that they were so sure of, this friendship with God that so defined them, to others with great compassion, great skill, and could do it equally well with those in the Body of Christ, (both those that depended on God and those who rebelled against God) What would happen if he had a track record of bringing all into a deeper communion with God and God’s people – no matter whether they were mature, sacrificial believers, new believers, those who tried to “cafeteria plan” their faith, or those who were apathetic or antagonistic towards God. What if they were truly apostolic/missional in this way?
What if we had such men to pastor our church body, what if we had such a man to imitate, even as they stripped themselves of all perks and privileges of being “the leaders”.
What if our priorities were discipling leaders like this, with these two characteristics being more a priority than academics, or linguistic expertise, or knowledge or political savvy?
Lord Have mercy! Help us to be leaders like Timothy, like Peter… like Paul… as they cared like Christ cared… AMEN
(1)Weigel, George (2013-02-05). Evangelical Catholicism (p. 122). Basic Books. Kindle Edition.
Are you sure you want the Holy Spirit to come?
Icon of the Pentecost (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
7 But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. 9 The world’s sin is that it refuses to believe in me. 10 Righteousness is available because I go to the Father, and you will see me no more. 11 Judgment will come because the ruler of this world has already been judged. John 16:6-11 (NLT)
In some Christian ministry, we assess how mature a believer is based on how much he knows. But the New Testament assesses the maturity of a believer based on how much he obeys (e.g. John 14:15; James 1:22-25) Think about every sermon, Bible study and Bible passage you have heard or read (knowledge). Estimate what percentage of that you consistently obey. It can be a bit embarrassing. You may say, “I consistently obey about 30% of all I know.” In a knowledge-based assessment of maturity, can we be comfortable with disobeying 70% of all we know. Is that really biblical maturity? If one has been a believer a long time he may have lots of knowledge, but may also have a low obedience factor. Despite his knowledge-based “maturity,” his disobedience factor is high! (1)
I know a lot of people who talk about the blessing of the Holy Spirit’s coming on Pentecost, and others who long for a restoration of spirituality in the church in America.
I am not sure they are as ready as they think they are!
Look at the promise above from John 16. Are you ready to have the Holy Spirit convict you of your sin? Are you ready to be purged of your sin? Are you ready to face how often you are disobedient you are to God? How often you betray Him and His plan for your life?
Do you welcome God working in your life? Many of us say we do, yet when push comes to shove, we struggle to confess our sins, choosing instead to hide it, justify it, say our sin isn’t as bad as those other people, ignore it, or even… run from God. I think we do far too often…
We rejoice in our salvation – but are we ready to let go of that which Christ saves us from?
We talk of His righteousness – the righteousness that comes from heaven, do you see it as something so much more valuable than any of the sins that we cling to?
May we be found, may we find ourselves, hidden in Christ Jesus, His righteousness ours, His cleansing us of sin, so that He can bring us home to the Father…
And may we strive for not just obeying His word, but treasuring it, for it is our life… in Him
(1) Smith, Steve; Kai, with Ying (2011-09-21). T4T: A Discipleship Re-Revolution (Kindle Locations 1186-1192). WIGTake Resources, LLC. Kindle Edition.
Related articles
- Our Place is His Place! (justifiedandsinner.com)
Hungry for more than Discipleless Christianity
Devotional Thought of the Day:
Nave of Salisbury Cathedral, with Sibirica Minor II in foreground – geograph.org.uk – 188287 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
23 Let us hold on firmly to the hope we profess, because we can trust God to keep his promise. 24 Let us be concerned for one another, to help one another to show love and to do good. 25 Let us not give up the habit of meeting together, as some are doing. Instead, let us encourage one another all the more, since you see that the Day of the Lord is coming nearer. 26 For there is no longer any sacrifice that will take away sins if we purposely go on sinning after the truth has been made known to us. 27 Instead, all that is left is to wait in fear for the coming Judgment and the fierce fire which will destroy those who oppose God! 28 Anyone who disobeys the Law of Moses is put to death without any mercy when judged guilty from the evidence of two or more witnesses. 29 What, then, of those who despise the Son of God? who treat as a cheap thing the blood of God’s covenant which purified them from sin? who insult the Spirit of grace? Just think how much worse is the punishment they will deserve! Hebrews 10:23-29 (TEV)
57 As they went on their way, a man said to Jesus, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 58 Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lie down and rest.” 59 He said to another man, “Follow me.” But that man said, “Sir, first let me go back and bury my father.” 60 Jesus answered, “Let the dead bury their own dead. You go and proclaim the Kingdom of God.” 61 Someone else said, “I will follow you, sir; but first let me go and say good-bye to my family.” 62 Jesus said to him, “Anyone who starts to plow and then keeps looking back is of no use for the Kingdom of God.” Luke 9:57-62 (TEV)
28 “Come to me, all of you who are tired from carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke and put it on you, and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in spirit; and you will find rest. 30 For the yoke I will give you is easy, and the load I will put on you is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 (TEV)
Yesterday in Bible Study we came across the first passage above. It is a bit scary, given the predisposition of people to sin, and even to argue that sins isn’t sin, or more commonly that my sins aren’t as foul, disgusting and pathetic as the sins of those people “out there”! Indeed we love to look outside ourselves, outside our churches, outside our country even, and point out their sins, their idolatry, their evil.
Or better yet, let’s ignore the issue of sin altogether in the church, and focus instead on issues like music, or what is a proper liturgy, or what is the nature and relationship of sanctification to justification. Let’s focus on church growth, or maintaining pure doctrine; even if that means the church must diminish because of how we work to purify it. There are more than enough things to worry about, there are more than enough cute sayings we can make meme’s out of, or tweet till we turn blue. We want to be Christians, whether Lutheran or Catholic or Methodist or Baptist or Non-Denom, without being disciples – and that is why our churches are so weak.
Instead we can be His friends, we can let Him mentor us, correct us, challenge our idols, especially the idol of our reason, our logic, our ideas of what is right and wrong, what is righteous, or what is sin. We can go – okay Lord, I don’t get this, but I trust YOU!
Will we let the refiner’s fire work in our lives, will we let his abrasive fuller’s soap burn our filthy rags and transform them into glorious white robes?
Will we let Him heal us of our sin?
Will we be reconciled, redeemed, revived, renewed, recreated?
Or do we want a nice academic, thoughtful (but controlled) form of Christianity that asks nothing of us, that allows us to create a facade of righteous, with all the right actions, all the right words, all the proper things… but without a true and honest relationship with the one who hung on a tree to make that relationship possible?
I’ve said it before – following Jesus is more like Ballroom dancing that mountain climbing – will we move with Him, will we allow Him to guide us, to teach us., to bless us with His word, His sacrament, His Death and Resurrection? This isn’t about some form of false piety, it’s about walking with God, and letting Him be our loving, merciful, faithful Shepherd and the Firstborn and Friend.
A last thought – the blessing from the Book of Hebrews:
20 Now may the God of peace— who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep, and ratified an eternal covenant with his blood— 21 may he equip you with all you need for doing his will. May he produce in you, through the power of Jesus Christ, every good thing that is pleasing to him. All glory to him forever and ever! Amen! Hebrews 13:20-21 (NLT)
The Roller Coaster of Life…How to Ride it in Joy:
Devotional Thoughts of a day that wavered in devotion….
7 We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. 8 We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. 9 We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. 10 Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies. 2 Corinthians 4:7-10 (NLT)
Yesterday, the entire “day” seemed like a downer, until I got to Bible Study – and we looked at the church in Phillipi. If I had to compare it to anything – it would be like a long subway ride, with all the lights out….. and finally Bible Study – with the incredible saints here at my church – lifted me out of the darkness and gloom. Fellowship – the partnership with God in the sharing His love and work to reveal that love to us (i.e. the gospel) that Paul shared with the Philippians and I share with the Concordians – does that. It pulls us out of our gloom, our darkness… for assuredly where two or three (or 25) are gathered in His name – He is there, with them.
Today – well – it’s been less a subway – and more like a roller coaster – the ups (another Bible Study and Devotions) were quickly dropped into lows, and then the hard slow grind back to the top. ( I think that was lunch – reading a good book!) and then – woosh – off we go again! There are days I just wished all I could do is teach and preach and lead worship – from waking up until lieing down. (I know better than going into academia – they have more meetings and grading papers, and accreditation and. and and… blech – give me the subway!)
Paul likewise had some challenging days! These kinds of spiritual/emotional/psycho/physical roller coasters didn’t start yesterday. They’ve been around a while, these roller coasters! The challenge is to find out how to have our faith, in the midst of the highs and lows. The challenge is to not go about it on our strength – but to cling to Christ – by remembering He has us fully in His grasp.
Our hope is found in the same place Paul found his sustenance. It is the dunamis – the power of God – the work of the Holy Spirit – within us, the very promise delivered to us in our baptism. We find our resilience – our ability to stand – not in our ability, rather because we know He has placed us there, and that He stands with us, He is our armor, our righteousness, our strength.
He is why we can withstand the stomach bouncing drops – and the long drags back up the hill… for we are more aware of His presence – than anything else. For if we have been united with His death and resurrection – it stands to reason that He has been united with us, and we indeed carry God about in us, as we enjoy the ride… trusting in Him.
A Day to Pray for the Church
Devotional/Discussion Thought of the Day:
10 All who are mine belong to you, and you have given them to me, so they bring me glory. 11 Now I am departing from the world; they are staying in this world, but I am coming to you. Holy Father, you have given me your name; now protect them by the power of your name so that they will be united just as we are .John 17:10-11 (NLT)
It’s been an interesting day, that as a “work day” is nearly over.
It started this morning, as I watched Pope Benedict leave behind the papacy, as he was escorted everywhere. It was then I noted that it was a day to especially pray for the church, as I noted many people who seemed to either loose hope, or who attacked a man, who finally could find some rest. I hurriedly posted to FB that this was a good time to pray, and then headed out to teach a Bible Study.
In the Bible Study, we talked about Hebrews 9, and how the tabernacle pictured the ministry of Christ. What a great discussion it was! One of my dear ladies declared that this was the kind of things that kids need to hear today – about how long God has planned and worked the clues to the cross – and to the depth of His love and how He would make us His people, His children. She is right…. that’s what we are to be about!
Lunch with a friend then followed – as we talked about the churches we go to, those we’ve worked with…. and how we need to find our lives, first in Christ…and then with each other in Christ. For that makes the difference.
It also brings me back to my comment… this is a day to pray for the church. For all its leaders, for all its divisions, for all of its people.
That we would find ourselves in the presence of God, and healing of all the damage of sin. For there is much to be healed of… and that healing… and the fellowship that we are made for…happens as we are the church.
Pray as well, especially for the future leaders, including the new pope – that they would be able to bear the burden of their ministry, and that they would see their work focus on revealing the love of God.
The Challenge of Seeming Failure
Devotional Thought/Discussion point of the day”
10 In my life in union with the Lord it is a great joy to me that after so long a time you once more had the chance of showing that you care for me. I don’t mean that you had stopped caring for me—you just had no chance to show it. 11 And I am not saying this because I feel neglected, for I have learned to be satisfied with what I have. 12 I know what it is to be in need and what it is to have more than enough. I have learned this secret, so that anywhere, at any time, I am content, whether I am full or hungry, whether I have too much or too little. 13 I have the strength to face all conditions by the power that Christ gives me. Philippians 4:10-13 (TEV)
One of the conversations during my trip on the mission field, was about the harsh reality of ministry, how the dreams of how it would be can come crashing down, when we face the daily grind on the field. When the results we long for, do not come to fruition right away, or even after a year or two. For young people in ministry, this can be a hard lesson. It doesn’t always get easier either, and far too often I have known the feeling – could I be more productive for God’s kingdom in another place? Could I do things differently? It’s easy to get caught up in visible results – and loose hope. This is most certainly true when it seems we have to teach the same lesson, repeatedly, year after year, month after month, heck – sometimes in the same Bible Study or counseling appointment.
Despite what Paul is saying – it is hard to be content with life at times – and that means it is also hard to be content with life in the ministry at times. This is true for pastors, and it is true for those one the foreign mission field, and I suspect it is for all of us.
After all, don’t they know the treasure we have? Why don’t people respond like on the day of Pentecost? Isn’t that the way it is supposed to happen, with hordes of pagans coming forward to be baptized, to be cleanse of their sins, to win the battle over the anxiety and fear caused by sin, satan and death’s bondage over them?
As I “re-enter civilization” (though I found China far more civilized than the USA) I wonder about my own ministry. Why can a church in China respond in months and be 500 plus people, while mine hovers in the 50’s? Is it that my people don’t treasure and trust in God’s love enough? (and if they don’t – does that mean I am a failure as a pastor?) Is there something wrong with what we are doing? Could there be a place where I am more productive, is there a pastor that would be more productive here? All those questions run through our heads, and I witnessed that in China, among those serving God there as well. It is easy to get disillusioned, disheartened, it is easy to let our minds run wild with questions….
Those questions occasionally need to be asked. But not in the darkness of night, not in the times when we are alone, when Satan can even more draw our attention from God’s presence. We do need to consider what we are doing, how we do it. But that shouldn’t be such that we feel condemned – but focused, energized, our vision clarified, our hope in God renewed….and ourselves content with the place and situation where God has put us.
That is the purpose of self-evaluation, it why we do it in the light of day, in the presence of God, with strong advisers who are willing to invest themselves in helping us. We especially focus, not on our work, but on the mercy of God – on the very thing we treasure, for the reason we started to serve others, either as a lifetime, fulltime vocation, or just as part of our regular day. We have to look to Him at these times… for there the shadows and doubts are dismissed by His glory, and we see things as they are.
Once again, I find some.. help focusing at the end of my devotions…in the words of someone familiar with both the successes and seeming failures of ministry.
“You must be careful: don’t let your professional success or failure—which will certainly come—make you forget, even for a moment, what the true aim of your work is: the glory of God!” (1)
Now, let’s get back to working at our Father’s side. Depending on His power, His mercy, His love…..
Godspeed
Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). The Forge (Kindle Locations 2576-2577). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Three Mondays This Week! Lord, have Mercy!
Devotional thought on my first day back in the office:
17 Everything you do or say, then, should be done in the name of the Lord Jesus, as you give thanks through him to God the Father. Colossians 3:17 (TEV)
Monday morning started early in Hong Kong, as I was up at 4:30 am. FInalize jamming things into a suitcase, jump in a taxi – then to the airport. A flight to Tokyo, where at five in the afternoon I boarded another plane. Eventually fell asleep about 6 hours later… to wake up on Monday morning, and landed at LAX. That was the second Monday literally, and here in my office, 16 hours later, I face the grind of a third Monday, getting the paperwork and studies down for the week….
Three Mondays… capping a 12 day tour – 5 sermons, 8 Bible studies, tons of encouraging and trying to help those who have sacrificed so much to serve God on the foreign mission field.
Let me be honest – its hard to get my desire up to kick into high gear… to get focused, to plan out my short week. And oh wait – a pastor’s conference coming up – Thursday afternoon through Saturday Morning.
And then, in devotions this morning – the above passage comes into my view…. and this..
If we really want to sanctify our work, we have inescapably to fulfil the first condition: that of working—and working well!—with human and supernatural seriousness. (1)
Part of me – wants to dismiss these things as if they are too pietistic, to hear them as law and thereby dismiss them, assuming that grace will overcome my lack of desire, and my lack of action. THe excuses flow quite naturally, from the old Adam. You’ve worked hard – you need time to rest, to recuperate, let others… and in my heart…. I know that is why Paul wrote Romans 6:1 – should I let my sin abound… no.
My only cure… my only way to get back in the groove…is too look to that supernatural seriousness – to realize that I am not working alone – that the Lord is with me. To realize that this work, whether it is doing prep work on a sermon, or visiting shut-ins, or looking through worship for this week and planning Lent… it is all about the greatest, most incredible thing I have ever heard, or experienced, the thing that sustained me on the foreign mission field, and now sustains us, as we work together in this mission field in the USA.
Something so basic, we begin and end every study here at Concordia with it… we use it over and over in our services, as if we need to be constantly reminded of this very things…
The Lord is with you! And with our spirits..>>
He is here…
Time to get back to work… with HIM!!!!!
What an incredible blessing – to see Him working!
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). The Forge (Kindle Locations 2558-2559). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.(1)
Spiritual Growth, commanded, compelled, or?
Devotional/Discussion thought of the day… and please discuss!
“You need interior life and doctrinal formation. Be demanding on yourself! As a Christian man or woman, you have to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world, for you are obliged to give good example with holy shamelessness. The charity of Christ should compel you. Feeling and knowing yourself to be another Christ from the moment you told him that you would follow him, you must not separate yourself from your equals—your relatives, friends and colleagues—any more than you would separate salt from the food it is seasoning. Your interior life and your formation include the piety and the principles a child of God must have, to give flavour to everything by his active presence there. Ask the Lord that you may always be that good seasoning in the lives of others.” (1)
Over the centuries, one of the great issues for the church is how to encourage spiritual growth in the people of God. How to get encourage them to live lives filled with prayer and worship and both meditation on God’s word, and the indepth study of it. There is no doubt to the benefit of such interaction with God and His word, yet how do we do it? Add to this the theological discussion about the proper use of God’s law and gospel, and the issue gets further complicated. We have been told – and can make the case for from scripture, that we aren’t supposed us Law (rules with threats of active or passive punishment/reward) to motivate behavior within the church, but rather – receiving the incredible grace of God should result in our actions changing – as God works the change in us.
This is true not only for private spiritual disciplines like prayer, meditation, devotional study, and being involved in gatherings with other believers, but also things like evangelism, serving the needy…
The above quote is walking on the fence – primarily because of how people read the word “obliged”. If obliged is read as to mean you are blessed if you do, damned if you do not, then it becomes law. THe problem with using the law to motivate the behavior that should be natural to a Christian is that compliance is achieved through fear or greed – the positive or negative reward is why the act is being done. (Some would say – at least its being done – and the ends justify the means.) That form of compliance is often short-lived as well – for the reward diminishes over time, and what was once done with enthusiasm and excitement fades. (This btw is why I believe when the end result of becoming a Christian is the “reward of heaven”, people will soon lose interest – becoming a Christian is about Who we are in heaven with, and Who walks with us here)
But if obliged is something different – an inner compelling to love as a reaction to love, if Christ’s charity to us, to humanity is so overwhelming as it is, then we are compelled the same way a piece of wood is swept away by a river’s current – and the discipline is something internal, natural, the norm, not the goal. The spiritual growth simply becomes part of us, as we are swept along in Christ – the disciplines become part of who we are, rather than what we do.
Yet that still begs the question – how do we introduce these things to the new believer, how do we encourage and train, guide and pastor people, and indeed fellow pastors, in such beneficial and grace filled things. And how do we encourage it in our “mature” believers, those who have done without for so long, yet see themselves as “faithful”. How do we encourage and teach this to those who see no great need for indepth prayer and meditation?
How do we cause them to fall into the river of Christ’s charity and become swept into a life, lived fully in relationship, interacting with God, not just on Sunday morning (or the occaisonal Sunday Morning..) but as part of their life…
For that matter – how do leaders find the motivation to let Christ sweep us away..?
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). The Forge (Kindle Locations 1722-1730). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
