Spiritual Disciplines
Spiritual disciplines are not a barometer of spirituality.
Many people become burdened coz they think God measures their spiritual performance on the basis of certain disciplines.
The truth is both challenging and liberating:
With this paradox from the book of "The freedom of the Christian".
"A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none"
"A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all"
Nowhere is this more true than with spiritual disciplines. As we have seen, the true indicator of spiritual well-being is growth in the ability to love God and people. If we can do this without the practice of any particular spiritual disciplines, then we should by all means skip them. We are free of having to impress God or anyone else with our spiritual commitment.
"Spiritual disciplines are to life what calisthenics are to a game --- like in basketball game, once the game starts - basketball players get no bonus points based on how many free throws they shot in practice. The only reason to practice them is to be able to make them in a game.
It is possible to spend every waking moment "practicing spiritual disciplines" but doing them in such a way as to make us less rather than more loving. In that case, of course, we would be better if we did none at all.
Spiritual disciplines are not necessarily unpleasant.
What make something a discipline depends on what we are training for. If we are training for a triathalon, we will pursue one set of practices but if we are training for a pie-eating contest, our preparation will look like something else - mostly, consuming vast amounts of pie. If we keep at it long enough, we will be amazed at how much pie we can eventually put away compared with what we can now.
What counts as "training" can only be determined when we know what it is we are training for.
Many of us got the impression somewhere that for an activity to count as a spiritual discipline, it must be something we could rather not do. However, if we are in training for a life characterized by joy, peace, and affection, we should assume that some of the practices are going to be downright enjoyable. Many of us need to discover "disciplines" such as celebration that will regularly produce in us rivers of wonder and gratitude.
Spiritual disciplines are not a way to earn favor with God.
Spiritual disciplines are not about trying to be good enough to merit God's forgiveness and goodwill. They are not ways to get extra credit, or to demonstrate to God how deeply we are committed to him. They exist for our sake, not God's. They have value only insofar as they help us morph.
In particular, spiritual disciplines don't oppose or exist in tension with grace. People who live under the bondage of legalism and then hear the message of grace are sometimes leery that talk of disciplines might lead to another form of religious oppression.
But spiritual disciplines are simply means of appropriating or growing toward the life that God graciously offers. This is why they are sometimes called a "means of grace".
Quote:
We must therefore attempt to recover a true understanding of the mutual relation between grace and discipleship...Happy are they who know that discipleship simply means the life which springs from grace, and that grace simply means discipleship.
Happy are they who have become Christians in this sense of the word, for them the word of grace has proved a fount of mercy.
Many people become burdened coz they think God measures their spiritual performance on the basis of certain disciplines.
The truth is both challenging and liberating:
With this paradox from the book of "The freedom of the Christian".
"A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none"
"A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all"
Nowhere is this more true than with spiritual disciplines. As we have seen, the true indicator of spiritual well-being is growth in the ability to love God and people. If we can do this without the practice of any particular spiritual disciplines, then we should by all means skip them. We are free of having to impress God or anyone else with our spiritual commitment.
"Spiritual disciplines are to life what calisthenics are to a game --- like in basketball game, once the game starts - basketball players get no bonus points based on how many free throws they shot in practice. The only reason to practice them is to be able to make them in a game.
It is possible to spend every waking moment "practicing spiritual disciplines" but doing them in such a way as to make us less rather than more loving. In that case, of course, we would be better if we did none at all.
Spiritual disciplines are not necessarily unpleasant.
What make something a discipline depends on what we are training for. If we are training for a triathalon, we will pursue one set of practices but if we are training for a pie-eating contest, our preparation will look like something else - mostly, consuming vast amounts of pie. If we keep at it long enough, we will be amazed at how much pie we can eventually put away compared with what we can now.
What counts as "training" can only be determined when we know what it is we are training for.
Many of us got the impression somewhere that for an activity to count as a spiritual discipline, it must be something we could rather not do. However, if we are in training for a life characterized by joy, peace, and affection, we should assume that some of the practices are going to be downright enjoyable. Many of us need to discover "disciplines" such as celebration that will regularly produce in us rivers of wonder and gratitude.
Spiritual disciplines are not a way to earn favor with God.
Spiritual disciplines are not about trying to be good enough to merit God's forgiveness and goodwill. They are not ways to get extra credit, or to demonstrate to God how deeply we are committed to him. They exist for our sake, not God's. They have value only insofar as they help us morph.
In particular, spiritual disciplines don't oppose or exist in tension with grace. People who live under the bondage of legalism and then hear the message of grace are sometimes leery that talk of disciplines might lead to another form of religious oppression.
But spiritual disciplines are simply means of appropriating or growing toward the life that God graciously offers. This is why they are sometimes called a "means of grace".
Quote:
We must therefore attempt to recover a true understanding of the mutual relation between grace and discipleship...Happy are they who know that discipleship simply means the life which springs from grace, and that grace simply means discipleship.
Happy are they who have become Christians in this sense of the word, for them the word of grace has proved a fount of mercy.
posted by mS eLoVe | 7:01 PM
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