![]() In other words, rather than saying that the way to get closer to God is to pray, go to church, etc., we should instead say that the way to be closer to God is to be more fully open to him, which often happens when we’re praying, attending church, etc. I wouldn’t advise anyone to do less of any particular spiritual discipline unless the discipline has come to be seen as an end in itself rather than the means through which we experience a greater depth of God’s grace and love. To walk in the unforced rhythms of grace and loosen their attachments to anything that prevents them from a richer experience of God’s presence. The activity is merely the conduit, opening the capacity for God to show himself to us and lead us closer to his heart.įully committed disciples discover, more and more each day, what it is to be spiritually free. Relationships are matters of the heart.ĭo fully committed followers of Jesus go to church a lot, give a lot of money, volunteer, pray a lot, etc? Often, yes, but the activity itself isn’t the relationship. How many of your relationships are defined by a list of activities you’ve committed to complete? Checking all the boxes won’t necessarily make your relationship stronger. We often tell people that Christianity isn’t about having the right religion but rather about having a relationship with God. ![]() I think we would be better off if we shifted from seeing full commitment to God as being highly active to being fully yielded.īy yielded I mean open. (You can read my message notes from that passage in this post entitled The God Who Has Proven Worthy of Full, Total, All-In Commitment.) Paul had tremendous confidence that, in light of his experience of God’s goodness, love, and grace, he could fully commit everything to God and God would be faithful and trustworthy with it all. God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline… I know the one in whom I have put my trust, and I am sure that he is able to guard until that day what I have entrusted to him. While preparing my message notes for this week’s Reflectionary newsletter, I was struck by the sentiment Paul conveys to his protegé, Timothy… Jesus obviously invited people out of oppressive religion and into the “unforced rhythms of grace” (from The Message’s masterful paraphrase of Matthew 11:28-30). And what lies further down the road than the activities and disciplines of the Christian life? True spiritual freedom. If your idea of a growing, mature disciple is one who does all the good things and doesn’t do the bad things, you may be missing out on something that lies beyond the activities we associate with an active faith. ![]() ![]() We should also include sharing our faith and doing good works in the community around us.īut… I’ve often made the mistake that I have warned others about, which is… Don’t make activity the measure of commitment. In fact, without them, we cut short the capacity in which God can really work in our lives. Throw in some fasting and meditation and you’ll really be showing your commitment. I also would have included quite a few personal disciplines, especially Bible reading and prayer. Certainly, a lot of fully committed disciples of Jesus attend church regularly, give financially, and volunteer in various programs and ministries. Attending regularly, giving, and volunteering in some area of ministry would all be part of the description I would offer for a fully committed follower of Jesus.Īnd those aren’t bad things. I’ve had to honestly own up to the fact that my answer to this question was different just a couple of years ago when I was serving as Lead Pastor of a local church because I needed the definition to include certain commitments to the local church as an institution. What does it actually look like to be fully committed to God? A fully devoted disciple of Christ? To be “all in”? This is a question I’ve been pondering over quite often lately.
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