The process
of spiritual renewal I discussed in my last two posts leads to an obvious
and crucial question: what should we do? We’ve begun to grasp how the process
works. We’ve affirmed the biblical balance between the inadequacy of
self-generated moral effort and the necessity of participation in Spirit-empowered
growth. Now we ask: What role do we play in God’s work of heart
renovation?
Two factors come into play: spiritual disciplines and
virtues. The two are intimately connected, but we can distinguish them for the
sake of discussion. I’ll attempt to unpack the disciplines in this post and the
concept of virtue in my next one. But first, I’ll try to illustrate their
relationship.
Spiritual disciplines are to virtues as training exercises
are to skills. We see this dynamic clearly in the realms of music and
athletics. No one expects to sit down and play Beethoven perfectly on the first
run. We realize that superb performance requires practice. The musician must
learn the language of music, train their fingers, develop rhythm, and much
more, in order to become great. Music must become a part of their nature, so they
can “make music,” not just play notes. Nor do we expect a ten year old to
dribble and shoot a basketball like a varsity starter. We know that it will
take thousands of shots and ball handling drills, along with strength and
conditioning training for him to excel as a player. Dallas Willard explains: “We
advise the young artist or athlete to enter a certain kind of overall life, one
involving deep associations with qualified people as well as rigorously
scheduled time, diet, and activity for the mind and body.”[1]
The point is simple: excellence takes time and training.
We often miss the obvious parallel to discipleship. We
imagine we can do what Jesus would do without imitating his overall pattern of
life. Willard continues:
Our mistake is to think that
following Jesus consists in loving our enemies, going the “second mile,”
turning the other cheek, suffering patiently and hopefully—while living the
rest of our lives just as everyone around us does. This is . . . a strategy
bound to fail and to make the way of Christ “difficult and left untried.” In
truth it is not the way of Christ
anymore than striving to act in a certain manner in the heat of a game is the
way of the champion athlete.[2]
Without disciplined discipleship in all dimensions, we
default to our old, ingrained ways. We slip back into sinful patterns. We must
realize that, just like anything worth pursuing, godliness requires training. Without training we cannot
cultivate new skills and lifestyle habits. Encountering Christ may motivate us,
but it does not fully equip us. To actually be like him, we must follow his
pattern of life. We can no more live like Jesus by simply observing and
admiring him than a singer can sound like Celine Dion after hearing her in
concert or a basketball player can dunk like Michael Jordan by watching him on
TV and wearing his shoes.
The spiritual disciplines move us beyond aspiration to
Christlikeness and into the realm of action. They train us as apprentices of
Jesus. They are the curriculum in the school of Christ. They are repeatable,
habitual practices by which we put off the old self and put on the new, which
is being renewed in the image of Christ.[3]
They help us slay the sinful nature that once mastered us and offer every part
of our body as an instrument of righteousness.[4]
The disciplines are pathways to wisdom and virtue.
By practicing the disciplines, we open ourselves to the
Spirit’s work. We position ourselves for change. We open our hands to receive
grace. We invite God to enter our lives and do his transforming work.
And we need his help. If Jesus was serious about the kind of
life he desires us to live, then we must do everything we can to facilitate the
deep heart change required for a fruitful life.
- How can a bitter, broken heart learn to forgive?
- How can an angry over-reactor learn to respond with gentleness?
- How can a hedonist learn to give sacrificially?
- How can a workaholic learn to rest in God’s provision?
- How can idolatrous human heart learn to worship and trust in God alone?
- How can a self-centered person learn to truly love their neighbor?
Jesus learned obedience in the crucible of life[5]
because he engaged in a life of training. For example, before beginning his
messianic mission, Jesus fasted and prayed forty days in solitude. He
experienced the deep communion with his Father that was necessary to prepare for
the tests he would undergo in the wilderness and during his ministry. He sustained
this communion through regular withdrawal to “lonely places.”[6]
These times alone in prayer prepared and filled him to continually serve and
sacrifice on behalf of others. He clearly studied the Scripture from an early
age, as his twelve-year-old encounter with the teachers in the temple
testifies. The fact that he can call his whole life and ministry a fulfillment
of Torah and Prophets confirms his continual immersion in, meditation on, and
application of these sacred texts. He certainly observed the Sabbath and
attended Synagogue faithfully. And his own material poverty demonstrates a life
of simplicity, totally submitted to and aimed at the execution of his Father’s
will.
If this disciplined manner of life was so empowering for
Jesus, might it also train us to follow his example and meet his high demands.
- Confession might remind us of our need for grace and empower us to forgive.
- Silence might help us hold our tongue when anger boils.
- Frugality and simplicity might free us to give generously.
- Submission might teach us to rest and trust God to provide.
- Worship would remind us that God alone is worthy.
- Fasting would train us to deny ourselves for others’ sake.
When the Spirit-empowered practice of the disciplines does
its transforming work, our character begins to change and we experience the joy
and abundant life that Jesus offers. We escape slavery to sin and discover
liberating submission to Christ our King. His commands no longer feel
burdensome or restrictive.[7]
Paradoxically, disciplined training lifts the heavy load of an undisciplined
life; under Jesus’ easy yoke and his light burden, we find rest for our souls.[8]
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