A new idea dawns on me: I am not, after all, a “Christian performer” here on Earth to do Christian acts. I am here to become holy, to become like Jesus and minister like Jesus so that God’s kingdom is extended.
A crisis immediately ensues. Do I want to be holy? And, if I do, how do I become holy?
Another new idea: Becoming holy is not something I effect upon myself; I simply give myself over to God who, in turn, makes me holy.
(I am here, by the way, to become holy, not to become happy. This idea-shift is revolutionary and freeing in that pain, for example, becomes something to embrace rather than avoid! Pain is God’s way of … making me holy!)
Another crisis: Hmmm! Do I really want to do that? Do I know Him well enough to give myself totally and unconditionally to Him? Am I willing to trust that my current “happiness” is worth the sacrifice?
Part of the answer lies in what I see in other people, namely those who are a few cobblestones further down the path to holiness. Am I so attracted to what I see in them that I want it for myself – will their holiness lead me to trust?
Community (deep and trusting friendships) is therefore a necessary ingredient in making you and me holy and, therefore, to the building of God’s kingdom.
Good news (another new idea): I do not give myself over to God, a God I barely know, alone. I go there with those with whom I travel right now, some who are “further along” than I.
Add the idea which says, “I will take you there. My power will sustain, enable and lead you.” This power comes from the Spirit of God working both in you and your traveling partners.
What choices do I make – what ultimately depends upon me? Answer: nothing and, yet, just a little bit. It is entirely a work of God’s grace. But, somehow, mysteriously, God has designed this thing called choice. He tells us to “… work out your salvation,” in Philippians 2. My decisions matter.
I think it is a bit like canoeing. I buy the boat, take it to the river, get in, give a semblance of paddling, and the river, the Mighty River, takes me! This is great news for the Christian! To discipline myself is better described as “positioning myself” for a work of God! All I have to do is show up! Piece-of-cake! The hard part is turning off the TV, putting on those running shoes, pushing away that Twinkie, talking to that person you work with about meaningful things, sitting with your Bible for 15 minutes.
We are still at a crisis point: Do I want this? Another pitch for community. We can admit our fears to our friends and still be accepted. We can wrestle with our confusions and reluctances in a safe environment. If I am not becoming holy (and only you can answer that), it is because you do not want to.
How do I come to want to? A couple of operatives here. One is the holiness of our friends. We see others becoming holy and want that for ourselves. Two, we, as Paul said to Timothy, “discipline ourselves for godliness” (1 Timothy 4:7). It is precisely what we do when we do things – like exercise or diet – that hurt for the moment, but payoff in good ways. We do something because we “know it is good for us.”
What comes before the “want to”? The want to “want to.”
Try this. Take 15 minutes and be alone. Make every attempt to stop thinking. When you get as close as you can, ask God to do something. Ask Him for the gift of becoming holy. If you don’t want to become holy, admit it. “God, right now, I like to run my own life.” Ask Him for the desire to become holy.
Then, sit there for the remainder of the time and keep on not thinking. When the time is up, go on to the next thing. And, be assured that your prayer is being answered!
A crisis immediately ensues. Do I want to be holy? And, if I do, how do I become holy?
Another new idea: Becoming holy is not something I effect upon myself; I simply give myself over to God who, in turn, makes me holy.
(I am here, by the way, to become holy, not to become happy. This idea-shift is revolutionary and freeing in that pain, for example, becomes something to embrace rather than avoid! Pain is God’s way of … making me holy!)
Another crisis: Hmmm! Do I really want to do that? Do I know Him well enough to give myself totally and unconditionally to Him? Am I willing to trust that my current “happiness” is worth the sacrifice?
Part of the answer lies in what I see in other people, namely those who are a few cobblestones further down the path to holiness. Am I so attracted to what I see in them that I want it for myself – will their holiness lead me to trust?
Community (deep and trusting friendships) is therefore a necessary ingredient in making you and me holy and, therefore, to the building of God’s kingdom.
Good news (another new idea): I do not give myself over to God, a God I barely know, alone. I go there with those with whom I travel right now, some who are “further along” than I.
Add the idea which says, “I will take you there. My power will sustain, enable and lead you.” This power comes from the Spirit of God working both in you and your traveling partners.
What choices do I make – what ultimately depends upon me? Answer: nothing and, yet, just a little bit. It is entirely a work of God’s grace. But, somehow, mysteriously, God has designed this thing called choice. He tells us to “… work out your salvation,” in Philippians 2. My decisions matter.
I think it is a bit like canoeing. I buy the boat, take it to the river, get in, give a semblance of paddling, and the river, the Mighty River, takes me! This is great news for the Christian! To discipline myself is better described as “positioning myself” for a work of God! All I have to do is show up! Piece-of-cake! The hard part is turning off the TV, putting on those running shoes, pushing away that Twinkie, talking to that person you work with about meaningful things, sitting with your Bible for 15 minutes.
We are still at a crisis point: Do I want this? Another pitch for community. We can admit our fears to our friends and still be accepted. We can wrestle with our confusions and reluctances in a safe environment. If I am not becoming holy (and only you can answer that), it is because you do not want to.
How do I come to want to? A couple of operatives here. One is the holiness of our friends. We see others becoming holy and want that for ourselves. Two, we, as Paul said to Timothy, “discipline ourselves for godliness” (1 Timothy 4:7). It is precisely what we do when we do things – like exercise or diet – that hurt for the moment, but payoff in good ways. We do something because we “know it is good for us.”
What comes before the “want to”? The want to “want to.”
Try this. Take 15 minutes and be alone. Make every attempt to stop thinking. When you get as close as you can, ask God to do something. Ask Him for the gift of becoming holy. If you don’t want to become holy, admit it. “God, right now, I like to run my own life.” Ask Him for the desire to become holy.
Then, sit there for the remainder of the time and keep on not thinking. When the time is up, go on to the next thing. And, be assured that your prayer is being answered!
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