Greatest Commandment Equals Greatest Growth
In Matthew 22:34-40, Jesus is asked what the greatest commandment of the Law is. He replies (paraphrased), "Love God and love people." I'm currently reading (among other books) "Creating Community" by Andy Stanley and Bill Willits. The authors make the poing that spiritual growth and maturity should be measured by Jesus' explanation of the greatest commandments. Whether we are truly getting to know God well and growing in our relationship with Him as disciples should be measured by whether our love for God and others is growing and being exhibited more and more in our lives. The authors then proceed to dive into what that might look like. While there are many possible outcomes of this, I'm in agreement with the authors that understanding whether I'm growing in my discipleship should not be based on how involved I am in the church. In fact, being involved in the church programs, though not bad in themselves, may actually be distracting me from becoming more intimate with Jesus, or loving others well.
So, what could be a fantastic measure of spiritual growth? I would suggest time! How much time am I spending with Jesus? Am I continually, daily pursuing Him, or only when it's convenient or necessary? How much time am I spending with people? Am I spending it only doing for them (programs and church work), or am also simply being with them, playing with them, and enjoying their company... and letting them enjoy mine. That's not to say that doing is bad. Church programs can be great tools for being with people. However, it is certainly easy to see - I suspect the reader knows people, if it's not himself or herself - when people are serving, working, and just doing, but not really caring for, being with, and enjoying the presence and personality of people. Similarly, attending church does not mean that one is spending time with Jesus, even if one could do so every day. The question is whether we're actually being with Jesus, focusing on Him, getting to know Him, and allowing Him to commune with - a two-way conversation - us.
In short, are we loving God and loving people the way Paul talks about in 1 Cor. 13? That is the kind of love that leads to spiritual and relationship growth. That's the kind of love that helps us to better grasp what it means to be a disciple of Jesus, and to understand what it means to be growing in our relationship with Him.
Got to get ready for the day, but I wanted to jot down my thoughts after reading this chapter in Stanley and Willits' book. Good stuff here.
So, what could be a fantastic measure of spiritual growth? I would suggest time! How much time am I spending with Jesus? Am I continually, daily pursuing Him, or only when it's convenient or necessary? How much time am I spending with people? Am I spending it only doing for them (programs and church work), or am also simply being with them, playing with them, and enjoying their company... and letting them enjoy mine. That's not to say that doing is bad. Church programs can be great tools for being with people. However, it is certainly easy to see - I suspect the reader knows people, if it's not himself or herself - when people are serving, working, and just doing, but not really caring for, being with, and enjoying the presence and personality of people. Similarly, attending church does not mean that one is spending time with Jesus, even if one could do so every day. The question is whether we're actually being with Jesus, focusing on Him, getting to know Him, and allowing Him to commune with - a two-way conversation - us.
In short, are we loving God and loving people the way Paul talks about in 1 Cor. 13? That is the kind of love that leads to spiritual and relationship growth. That's the kind of love that helps us to better grasp what it means to be a disciple of Jesus, and to understand what it means to be growing in our relationship with Him.
Got to get ready for the day, but I wanted to jot down my thoughts after reading this chapter in Stanley and Willits' book. Good stuff here.
posted from Bloggeroid
Labels: Church, Small Groups, Spiritual Growth, Theology
posted by Pastor Paul at
6:56 AM
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