Pastor's Ponderings
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GROWING SPIRITUALLY When I was in my first yeat of seminary I met a lady who proudly shared that she had taught the Nursery Class in her church for forty years. She was in her late fifties and evidently had never attended an adult Sunday School class ar Bible Study. In other words, though chronologically she was in her senior years, spiritually she was very likely still a little child or an adolescent. It is possible to be a church member, attend worship and Sunday School regulary for years, even hold leadership positions, etc., and still be nourshing ourselves on spiritual pablum rather than chewing spiritual meat. To grow and mature spiritually requires commmitment of time and energy, discipline and practice as well as openness, humility, receptiveness, patience, faith, and obedience. Who would expect to be accepted on a sports team without being willing to devote oneself to doing whatever it takes to prepare physically, mentally, and emotionally, to be the best player you can be. The same applies to training for a job or career, or, hopefully, enturing a marriage, parenthood,etc. All of these require a serious commitment if we're going to succeed and become all the better at what we undertake. Often we're much more willing to put concerted effort into what we do than into who we are. Who we are as a Christian is being a child of God, brothers and sisters of Christ, the family of God. Relationships requires as much or more commitment and effort than anything else in life. Nothing is more important than relationships. Relationships that are neglected stagnate, weaken, sicken, and eventually die from starvation. There is no more important relationships in our lives than our relationship with God. That relationship will grow and mature only if we are devoted to it, committed to it, willing to work at it and learn from it; to mature in it. Like any other relationship, it requires time with the Person, willingness to listen and respond, to learn from and about God, to give and recieve, to love and be loved, to grow closer to God, to obey God's guidance, and to share what we're learning and ourselves with others. Our relationship with God needs prayer, immersions in God's Word, practice, service to others and living out our faith if we are to grow spiritually. Let us begin the year 2001 be committing ourselves to putting God first in our lives, to growing spiritually in our relationship with God and other people. Let us commit ourselves to growing in our understanding of who we are in the light of what God has done for us, is doing, and will be doing in Jesus Christ. What could possible be more important? In Christ, Ashley |