Now here we are, well into the new year. It really is true, that the older I get, the faster time seems to flow. It occurs to me now how much of that time I have wasted over the years, and I find myself not wanting to waste so much any more.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I am not saying a person should never take leisure time; we need times of refreshing and rest. Lisa and I took a vacation to see her mom right after Christmas, and I hadn’t even realized how much I needed the rest until we got there. Human beings were not made to be consumed with our jobs or our to-do lists.
What I am contemplating is whether a lot of the stuff we do is really worth doing. Is the way I am spending my time benefiting anyone; even me? Am I helping others see the amazing love of God? Am I growing more into the image of that amazing God? Or am I just spinning my wheels, or even worse, moving backwards and becoming less like my Daddy.
Beginning in Lent, we will be looking at some of the ways God has given us to grow spiritually. There are many ways God can reach into our lives and do his work; an infinite and creative God can often surprise us. There are a handful of practices, however, that God seems to bless over and over again; we call these Means of Grace (we also call these practices spiritual disciplines, but I don’t like to use such offensive language where everyone can read it!). We will explore several of them to see how useful they can be as we “travel on to perfection.”
What I want you to get as you read this today is this: there will never come a day when you and I can be content with where we are and it is okay to stop working at growing. It is a universal truth, in both our physical and spiritual lives; the minute we stop growing, we start dying. No matter how mature we become (physically or spiritually), we still have a long way to go to reach the goal, and we still have infinite room to grow in God’s grace. I am convinced that even after we die we will continue to grow in the knowledge of God’s love, because God’s love is infinite and we will never explore the fullness of his kingdom.
Many people choose to give up something for Lent; a small way of identifying with the sacrifice Jesus Christ made for us on the cross. Let me suggest that you consider adding something in the place of whatever you may give up, or even if you don’t give up anything. Add a couple extra minutes in prayer (remember our sanctuary is open every weekday morning at 7:00); add a few passages of Scripture to your day. Perhaps you could add an hour or so of volunteer work, trying to bring justice a little closer for someone. Whatever it might be, I encourage you to add one of these Means of Grace to your routine, expecting that the Lord will add blessings to your life and the lives of others around you because of it.
I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.
Ephesians 1:16b-18 (NLT)
