Tuesday, December 20, 2005

Growing?

I read this today from Oswald Chambers:

What is extremely important is for the worker’s simple relationship with Jesus Christ to be strong and growing. His usefulness to God depends on that, and that alone.

And I must ask myself - am I growing? I've often heard a pastor from my youth, speaking a simple phrase "what you feed grows and what you starve dies" echoing through the years to me... and I've been feeling a little dead lately. Yes, this is Christmas time, yes, I'll be preaching in 2 weeks. Yes, I'm surrounded by pastors and theologians and fellow students seeking to be both. But I think I've been starving the wrong things...

I think, no, I know that my spiritual life, my "simple relationship with Jesus Christ" has become stagnant. It is neither strong nor growing. And I say this now because in doing so I cannot pretend it is only an idea. By saying it here I am marking it. I am admitting it and I am recognizing it - the first step is to admit you have a problem, right? (but I don't have time for 7 steps...)

My paper calls my name, but so does Jesus. And those other things that are constantly calling my name, that I have been feeding recently (ie - tv & internet - sports and sloth) need to get leaner - they need some starving...

1 comment:

jlee said...

Growth presupposes health. A healthy human body has a healthy bloodflow. We are part of the body of Christ and our conversations at B&N-Starbucks are examples of the bloodflow of the body. Exchanges of ideas. Exchanges of challenges. Exchanges of encouragement. A finishing time of prayer.

My prayer is that the Lord will continue to use our conversations over coffee (whether Borders or Starbucks) to keep the blood flowing and our friendship with God and each other growing.

To God be the glory