“God owns all of life, and worshiping God means that we must revolve around him, not he us. So God shouldn’t be confined to his own compartment in our schedule. Jesus does not abide in his assigned time slot; we abide in him.”- Jared C. Wilson
Jared Wilson continues Chapter 4 of The Imperfect Disciple as he notes how easy it is for Christians to love convenience and embrace consumerism. As a result, Jared notes, “where we live, and how we live there, shapes us (emphasis author’s).” Hence, Jesus followers find it exceedingly difficult to engage in worship of Him beyond a weekend church service. Extending worship further invades the space and time of what remains of our “real life.”
Yet, even making time for God creates a problem, because God owns all of life. We must not schedule God, but abide in Him. Thus, we need to consider the process of formation. In other words, allowing ourselves to be formed in a certain way. This means more than sticking a Jesus fish on our car’s bumper. Therefore, Pastor Wilson defines cultivating Spiritual (as in Holy Spirit) formation:
“To cultivate Spiritual formation, then, means to find ways to immerse ourselves in the work of the Spirit — to re-sync ourselves to the rhythms of the kingdom of God (emphasis Jared’s).”
In conclusion, Jared cautions against creating holy homework for the Christian life. As a result, Jared notes a difference between religious burdens and relational rhythms on our Christian journey. At times we’ll struggle with, and even against, the spiritual disciplines. However, Pastor Wilson describes how to overcome this struggle:
“But if we center on the gospel, the essential duties of maintaining a relationship with God begin to seem less like duty and more life delight. They seem less like rules and more like rhythms.”
Today’s question: What Bible verses enable you to abide in Him? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “The Bible – a remarkable fountain”
