[sunday meditations]

For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people. We are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God, as we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when the great glory of our God and Savior Jesus Christ is revealed.  

     (Titus 2.11-13)

The monks of the ancient monastic orders embraced “Rules of Life,” measurements by which they would make their decisions and organize their daily living. Rules of Life give life a framework, and though they’re out-of-style nowadays, I think this digital age characterized by a relentless onslaught of information (and misinformation) makes Rules of Life more than a good idea. It’s easy to become distracted when distractions are shoved in our faces from every direction, and having a Rule of Life helps clear the clutter and give space to breathe. I really love these verses because they lay out, in so few words, what the Christian life is all about, what God demands of his people: there is the turning from godless living and sinful pleasures, and there’s the embracing of wisdom and righteousness, and underscoring all of it is devotion to God. As far as “Rules of Life” go, I want this to be my “Rule of Life,” the standard by which I measure my choices, my decisions, my behaviors and thoughts. I’m already doing this, of course (I couldn’t call myself a Christian if I weren’t), but I want it to be increasing in measure. I don’t believe perfection is possible in this life, at least this side of the eschaton, because I’m well aware of how deep our sinful impulses go; but I want my life to be characterized by growing in wisdom and righteousness, and by a deepening devotion to God as I continue to study, pray, and know Christ more.

Really, that’s my goal right now: to deepen in my devotion to God, to grow in my love for Christ, and I’m pursuing it not by rigorous exegetical study or by contemplating theological conundrums but by kneeling before God in prayer, by spending time in Scripture, letting the Spirit speak to me, convict me, encourage me, and train me. I’ve been reading The Great Omission by the late Dallas Willard, and he paints a portrait of “quiet times” that I find gets to the heart of what it’s all about: when we go before God in spiritual disciplines, we are sitting under the training of Christ, and Christ through the Spirit is working with us and in us to make us the sort of people he wants us to be. I really like that, and I’ve found joy in my quiet times of purposeful discipleship. A new year is right around the corner, and I’m eager for 2013 and all its bad experiences (really, there were few good ones; such a shitty year) to be over. As 2014 dawns, I want the new year to be marked by a growing devotion to God, and I’m eager to see what God will do in my life and in me as I continue to engage him in prayer and spiritual disciplines. I’ve really been struggling lately with all sorts of stuff, and through it all I can hear God’s patient and loving words: “Trust in Me. Hope in Me. Watch what I can do.” My eyes, they’re wide open.