The Lectio Room

“In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus pointed out four things that are not at the center of life that loves God and loves others: food, drink, clothing, and tomorrow.” (Matthew 6:25) (p 102)

“At the center of a centered life is God and God’s way – the kingdom of God.”

“The insight for you and me today is that God’s work in this world is bigger than what God is doing in you and me.  If at the center of the centered life is God’s kingdom, then we  can devote ourselves to God only by devoting ourselves to God’s people and to bringing about what God wants for our world.  Giving ourselves up for what God is doing in this world is the only way to discover ourselves in the center of God’s world and the only way of finding our way to the centered life.” (p 103)

What have you found at the center of your life?

“You do well if you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”
James 2:8

“Listen my beloved brothers and sisters.  Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in  faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him?”
James 2:5

Facing the Day – Convert your memory into ministry.

“… today’s Western culture is shaped by two lesser moral “debts”: toleration and political correctness…. But to make the Jesus Creed a living part of our lives involves more than tolerating someone – which translates to “putting up with” in a condescending manner.  The exhortation of the Jesus Creed to love is something other than to tolerate; instead it calls us to engage, to become friends, to serve the other and to join hands with that person.  And love is more than avoiding labels, because love removes those labels to form a society of friendship and fellowship.” (pp 117-118)

Do you want to be tolerated or loved?

McKnight refers to spiritual disciplines as a “new fashion” for Christians (p 96).

Over the last several years there have been many books written addressing spiritual disciplines and spiritual practices.  The ongoing conversations these books provoked have benefited many people and I count myself as one of those who has benefited from this discussion.  But  I sometimes worry that we can become so enchanted by spiritual disciplines we lose focus on what is essential.

Scot McKnight speaks to this problem when he writes, “We can practice spiritual disciplines for three different ends: We can do them in order to convince ourselves that we are pious, we do them to gain the approval of others, or we can practice them in order to love God and others more.  They can be self-absorbing, and other-absorbing, or they can be God-pleasing.  God designs spiritual disciplines to increase our love for him and for others.  Spiritual disciplines that do not result in living the Jesus Creed are done for unworthy ends.” (p 97)

Maybe he has named the test any practice of spiritual disciplines must pass.

“For freedom Christ has set us free.”
Galatians 5:1

“For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another.”
Galatians 5:13

Facing the Day – The Jesus Creed leads us to freedom in God’s Spirit.