True spirituality begins in this definition; anything less than this is something other than Christian discipleship. Christian discipleship means practicing the Kingship of Jesus in every area of our lives, seeking and advancing His Kingdom, growing in His grace, and living as His disciples and witnesses.

This definition will grow and expand as our relationship with the Lord grows, so that while we can always understand the life to which we are called, we can never exhaust it fully.

Having defined spiritual life, we turn to the next crucial dynamic for living according to our definition: dependence. It is not enough to know what the spiritual life is all about, nor even to continue accumulating information and insights concerning its nature. Unless we truly depend on the Lord to empower us to live the spiritual life, all our knowledge about it will be little more than intellectual trimmings to an empty and unfruitful existence. Depending on the Lord begins with desiring the spiritual life above all else.

One thing

The Apostle Paul expressed the same idea as King David when he wrote, “but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3.13, 14). He went on to add that this is the way mature believers think about their lives.

We must decide whether such a life of looking to Jesus, being filled with Jesus, and being transformed into the image of Jesus is what we really want in life. We must move, that is, from defining the spiritual life to depending on God to help us experience and express it. And desire is the vehicle that takes us into such dependence.

This is not as easy as it might seem. Many worldly distractions and diversions clamor for our attention, time, and strength. Spiritual forces of wickedness in high places whisper subtle lies into our souls, suggesting that we don’t want to be religious fanatics and that, after all, no one else seems to be all that serious about living the spiritual life.

Moreover, our secular age certainly makes light of this calling, and the pressures of getting by and making it in our materialist society can consume our time and strength, so that we have little left over for the spiritual life.

But all these are just other ways of saying that, when push comes to shove in our lives, what we are really depending on, and what we really desire are the things of this world rather than the things of Christ and His Kingdom. The “one thing” that occupies us is not contemplating, resting in, and enjoying the Lord, but making do as best we can in the getting-and-spending-here-and-now of our everyday lives.

Desiring the spiritual life

We will engage the spiritual life to which we’ve been called when, focused on Jesus and resting in Him, we begin to desire this life as the defining mark of our experience in the world. And the more we desire the spiritual life, the more we will depend on the Lord to deliver it.

Desiring the spiritual life begins and grows by contemplating the beauty of the Lord, tasting of the joy and pleasure that are to be found in His presence (Ps. 16.11). This is the work of prayer and reading slowly and reflectively through the Word of God. Desire for the Lord grows through time spent with Him, and all such time spent with Him increases our trust in Him and, hence, our dependence on the Lord and His Word. Thus we come to know the riches of His love and power, working down into our souls and coming to expression in our lives (Rom. 11.33-36; Eph. 3.20; Jn. 7.37-39).

But we must make up our minds that this – this life of following Jesus – is what we desire above anything and everything else. The rich young ruler, we recall, turned away from Jesus because he was still trusting in his considerable wealth and worldly indulgences. “Near to the Kingdom” is as close as he came. We will not make progress in the spiritual life until, desiring the Lord more than the things of this world, we begin to depend on Him for every aspect of our lives.

Next steps

How much of the time of your week is devoted to seeking the Lord and spending time with Him? Talk with a church leader about this question, and seek advice for improving your time in pursuit of “this one thing.”

Additional Resources

Download this week’s study, Dynamics of the Spirtual Life.

Sign up for ViewPoint Leaders Training and start your own ViewPoint discussion group.

The spiritual life begins and ends in the vision of Christ. T. M.’s book, Be Thou My Vision, provides a helpful series of meditations on the Lord in glory. It’s available by clicking here.

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.