Everyday Christianity: Spiritual Life (3)
But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord… Philippians 3.7, 8
The spiritual life
We can organize our understanding of spiritual life under three general and overlapping headings or facets: define, depend, and demonstrate.
First, we must be clear about the life to which we are called; that is, we must define spiritual life as God does—life focused on and sustained by the risen Lord Jesus, and lived for His Kingdom and glory. This is the life to which we have been called (1 Thess. 2.12); this is eternal life with Christ (Jn. 17.3). All who have chosen this life say as Paul did, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Gal. 2.20).
Spiritual life requires, as its second facet, that we depend on the Lord for all things, since apart from Him we can do nothing (Jn. 15.5), and since He has promised to provide all our needs by His riches in glory in Christ Jesus (Phil. 4.19). We have no strength of our own to make progress in spiritual life; God is at work within us, and we depend on Him, by His Word and Spirit, to make us willing and able to do whatever pleases Him. So we look to the Lord continuously, that He might receive our devotion, fit us for His Kingdom, provide for our every need, and strengthen us to resist the devil and grow through every trial or affliction (Matt. 6.9-13).
It’s when we get to the next facet of spiritual life that living a spiritual life becomes more difficult; for the next dynamic requires that we deny everything in our lives that hinders, obstructs, compromises, or supplants the life of following Jesus Christ. As Paul put it, we must learn to “count everything as loss” that keeps us from looking to Jesus, being filled with Jesus, and living for Jesus in every area of our lives, all the time.
We will never fully depend on the Lord or demonstrate the hope we have in Him until we deny, set aside, and count as loss everything else on which we might depend for our life’s meaning, purpose, and happiness.
Time and activities
We can by helped in this by recognizing that, ultimately our lives consist of two primary components: time and activities. Everything we are and do amounts to these. All the things we use in this life, all the people we know, and all our pursuit of spiritual life reduces to time and activities.
It has pleased God to give each one of us the same amount of time each day, week, month, and year. Time is a gift of God, and He expects us to use it wisely, in ways that overcome the foolishness of living apart from God so that we may glorify Him in all the details of our lives (Ps. 90.12; Eph. 5.15-17; 1 Cor. 10.31). What we do in the time God gives us amounts to various kinds of activities, such as, eating, sleeping, working, talking, reading, shopping, raising children, helping to grow our church. Who we are, how we define our being-in-the-world, and what we’re actually depending on in life will become visible in the activities and the timeof our lives. This is where we demonstrate the hope we have in Jesus.
The challenge of spiritual life is to employ all our time and activities for seeking the Kingdom and righteousness of God (Matt. 6.33) Anything that doesn’t contribute to that objective distracts from it. All that we have and do is given by God for us to enjoy Him, to know the mystery of His Presence, the reality of His power, the wonder and surprise of His glory, and the progress of His grace to, in, and through us.
All activities that are frivolous, mundane, worldly, sinful, or otherwise not on the path to Christ and His Kingdom must be set aside, counted as loss, regarded as of no gain. We cannot serve two masters. Jesus is Lord of all our life and He calls us to follow Him in the great work of His Kingdom. Whatever we do is a gift from God (1 Cor. 4.7; Jms. 1.17) and thus has the potential for glorifying Him. The challenge to us is to learn how to bring the knowledge of God’s glory into all our activities and time, and where we cannot, to lay those activities aside.
The time of your life
As we make our plans and review our daily lives, we must deny any time to interests and activities which flow contrary to or away from our spiritual calling in Jesus Christ. We must take those activities, and all activities, captive for Jesus, transforming all our everyday activities so that they become critical components in expressing the life of Christ—spiritual life.
And this begins with desire. Do we desire what Paul desired, to know, love, enjoy, and serve Jesus in all the time and activities of his life? What do the time and activities of your life—what they are and how you pursue them—reveal about what you desire and what you’re depending on for purpose and joy?
Paul instructs us to pay careful attention to how we use our time, and to make sure we deny any time for anything that might blur our focus, divert our steps, or compromise our everyday Christian life (Eph. 5.15-17). Time is a most precious gift from God. Let us fill it with activities that express our gratitude and love for the Lord.
For reflection or discussion
1. How do you plan your week, the activities that will take up your time? Do you commit these to the Lord for His glory (Ps. 90.12, 16, 17)?
2. Do you evaluate your activities while and after you are in them? Later in the day? How do you do that?
3. What’s one thing you can do that would allow you to make better use of your time for living the spiritual life?
Next steps: What is your approach to “making the most” of the time God gives you each day? Review yesterday’s activities. How might you have improved those for seeking the Kingdom and glory of the Lord?
T. M. Moore
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If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment to give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
A spiritual life is a disciplined life in every facet. How does this work out? Our book, A Disciplined Life, can help you review and improve your own disciplines toward a more robust walk with and work for the Lord. For a free PDF of The Disciplined Life, click here.
Other columns of interest: This week: Our Read Moore podcast wraps up excerpts from the book, Patrick: A Devotional History. Our Crosfigell teaching letter is pursuing a series on the spiritual poetry of the Celtic Revival.. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
