Striding Forward
One of the marks of a rich, relevant, life-giving relationship with Jesus Christ is that spiritual movement is taking place. Essentially, our hearts, souls, minds, and behavior are being transformed into the image of the Christ we serve. We call this the journey to holiness, and the sanctifying grace of the Holy Spirit helps us get there.
So often in our culture and ‘Christianity,’ people seem to want to “Check the Jesus box,” meaning that when it comes to issues of religion, they partake in some activity that satisfies their need to claim they are paying duty to God. This kind of faith is like a broken security alarm that isn’t connected to anyone who could help me. This kind of faith limits our spiritual growth and stagnates our Churches – capping worship, hindering mission, and preventing us from becoming and receiving all God has for us.
Over the past couple of days, I have been pondering some of the catalysts for spiritual movement that will accelerate us forward on the path of holiness. These three thoughts haven’t been fully developed yet, but I will surely do so in future blogging excursions.
There are three ways that Spiritual movement happens within people.
1) We are ‘pulled’ forward.
This is why God gave us each other! Our words, encouragement, and support are crucial to pulling us forward. We need people who can ask questions, offer challenges, and hold our hand as we take spiritual steps forward. Hebrews 10:24 says, “Let us consider how we can spur one another on towards love and good deeds.” Spur, translated, means ‘to provoke’… it is our role as brothers and sisters in Christ to stand alongside each other and, through loving relationships, ‘pull’ one another towards Christ’s likeness.
2) We are ‘bumped’ forward.
Being bumped forward is how I am describing how God intervenes in our life to take us from where we are to the next step on the journey to where he wants to take us. This happens typically in the form of an unexpected circumstance, where our life and routine are shaken to the point of us having to decide to move forward. The loss of a job, the death of a loved one, an unexpected bill, a glimpse of truth, a conflict, or an unexpected revelation can all be things that ‘bump’ us forward in our faith. So often, it is our default, certainly mine, to want to straighten out ‘bumps’ in the road as soon as possible… but I suspect that bumps in the road can redemptively become launch pads for movement towards the living Christ.
3) We ‘stride’ forward.
This happens when, by our own will and decision, we continue to move forward on the journey to Jesus Christ. We proactively choose to let ourselves be transformed into the image of Jesus. Striding forward is filled with faith, trust, and the knowledge that there is no life worth living outside of the life that Jesus offers us. Striding conjures up images of picking ourselves out of the mud that wants to get us stuck and taking bold steps forward. When we stride, we make a daily, determined decision that we will do something this day that will help us see who Jesus is and walk towards him more clearly. This is the most painless way to move forward, but undoubtedly the hardest to accomplish because of the ill-discipline that seems to be a default within our human nature.
It is God’s desire that we be transformed into the likeness of his Son, Jesus (Romans 12:1). I hope that you have relationships with people who can pull you forward in your faith. I pray that when ‘bumps’ come, they will be springboards for spiritual movements. Most of all, I pray that you will choose this day to stride toward the King who loves you more than you can imagine and has immeasurably more for you.
Move forward!
So often in our culture and ‘Christianity,’ people seem to want to “Check the Jesus box,” meaning that when it comes to issues of religion, they partake in some activity that satisfies their need to claim they are paying duty to God. This kind of faith is like a broken security alarm that isn’t connected to anyone who could help me. This kind of faith limits our spiritual growth and stagnates our Churches – capping worship, hindering mission, and preventing us from becoming and receiving all God has for us.
Over the past couple of days, I have been pondering some of the catalysts for spiritual movement that will accelerate us forward on the path of holiness. These three thoughts haven’t been fully developed yet, but I will surely do so in future blogging excursions.
There are three ways that Spiritual movement happens within people.
1) We are ‘pulled’ forward.
This is why God gave us each other! Our words, encouragement, and support are crucial to pulling us forward. We need people who can ask questions, offer challenges, and hold our hand as we take spiritual steps forward. Hebrews 10:24 says, “Let us consider how we can spur one another on towards love and good deeds.” Spur, translated, means ‘to provoke’… it is our role as brothers and sisters in Christ to stand alongside each other and, through loving relationships, ‘pull’ one another towards Christ’s likeness.
2) We are ‘bumped’ forward.
Being bumped forward is how I am describing how God intervenes in our life to take us from where we are to the next step on the journey to where he wants to take us. This happens typically in the form of an unexpected circumstance, where our life and routine are shaken to the point of us having to decide to move forward. The loss of a job, the death of a loved one, an unexpected bill, a glimpse of truth, a conflict, or an unexpected revelation can all be things that ‘bump’ us forward in our faith. So often, it is our default, certainly mine, to want to straighten out ‘bumps’ in the road as soon as possible… but I suspect that bumps in the road can redemptively become launch pads for movement towards the living Christ.
3) We ‘stride’ forward.
This happens when, by our own will and decision, we continue to move forward on the journey to Jesus Christ. We proactively choose to let ourselves be transformed into the image of Jesus. Striding forward is filled with faith, trust, and the knowledge that there is no life worth living outside of the life that Jesus offers us. Striding conjures up images of picking ourselves out of the mud that wants to get us stuck and taking bold steps forward. When we stride, we make a daily, determined decision that we will do something this day that will help us see who Jesus is and walk towards him more clearly. This is the most painless way to move forward, but undoubtedly the hardest to accomplish because of the ill-discipline that seems to be a default within our human nature.
It is God’s desire that we be transformed into the likeness of his Son, Jesus (Romans 12:1). I hope that you have relationships with people who can pull you forward in your faith. I pray that when ‘bumps’ come, they will be springboards for spiritual movements. Most of all, I pray that you will choose this day to stride toward the King who loves you more than you can imagine and has immeasurably more for you.
Move forward!
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