Reflections
As we near the three-month mark of the 2007 Servants Quarters program, we all are taking time and care to reflect on what God has been doing in our lives lately. More specifically, we have been meditating on, and journaling in response to, the following questions:
What have you learned about God and yourself during the last three months? Have you set a course to put that revelation into action (in your personal life, in your ministry)? What does that involve?
For me, the first three months of 2007 have proven to be a time of intense learning about God and His ways. Two lessons stand out. First, God is in control, not me. My role is limited (1 Corinthians 3:5-7; Ecclesiastes 7:13). My duty is loving obedience. As Solomon summarized the life lived from an eternal perspective, “Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man” (Ecclesiastes 12:13). He will take care of the consequences. He will reveal the next step on the path. Only He knows the divine, sovereign, eternal plan. We “cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end” (Ecclesiastes 3:11). I must trust in the presence and work of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:11-16). I must trust in the Word, that it will bear fruit (Isaiah 55:6-11). I must trust in His providential care (Matthew 6:25-33), divine mercy (Daniel 2:1-30) and justice (Job 38-42). I have heard these reminders many times, from many sources, including friends, a lecturer and my devotional studies.
But I wouldn’t have realized the importance of this lesson – in other words, I wouldn’t have realized my failure to live consistently with this conviction – without the Lord putting uncomfortable and inconvenient opportunities for application right in front of my face. Most notably, I have great difficulty appreciating the spiritual wisdom of my church’s decision to litigate property claims against The Episcopal Church and Diocese of Virginia. In obedience to Him, I have expressed those concerns, surrendering the consequences to Him. (Of course, the consequences never were in my hands, but nonetheless, there is freedom in the surrender.)
The second prominent lesson of the last three months is that I am woefully inattentive to the unseen realm. I can go hours without considering the eternal significance of my temporal labor. I can go hours, even days, without tuning into the supernatural realm, the widespread but unseen battle that rages between good and evil (Ephesians 6:12). Hence, foolishly, I too often forget to avail myself of the protections of the “full armor of God” (vv.11-18). I am too easily sucked into the emotion of the moment, forgetting the peace available when fixing my eyes on the unseen eternal (2 Corinthians 4:16-18). In sum, my practice of the presence of King Jesus is wanting. I need to cultivate a more intimate understanding and richer application of the unseen reality that I am with Jesus – where He is (Ephesians 2:6), exalted at the right hand of the Father (Colossians 3:1).
The course I have set to acquire such wisdom from God involves the regular practice of various spiritual disciplines. I must commit to planting the Word deeply on a daily basis, reading and meditating on an appropriate devotional study guide. I will commit to sit at the feet of two men who are more spiritually mature than I am. I need to use more of my available time to wait on the Lord, to pray and to reflect quietly, to practice solitude. I need to practice (i) giving, “contributing to the needs of others” (Romans 12:8); (ii) living in community, denying the radical individualism peddled by the popular culture; and (iii) sacrificial living, outwardly denying the prevailing wisdom of the self-indulgent world.
Most importantly, throughout all of this, I must remain sensitively aware that the point is to know God and enjoy Him forever. As J.I. Packer so aptly said with respect to theological pursuits:
To be preoccupied with getting theological knowledge as an end in itself, to approach Bible study with no higher motive than a desire to know all the answers, is the direct route to a state of self-satisfied self-deception. We need to guard our hearts against such an attitude . . . . (Knowing God, p.23)
What has God been teaching you?