"You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will be qualified to teach others. Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs - he wants to please his commanding officer. Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor's crown unless he competes according to the rules. The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops. Reflect on what I am saying, for the LORD will give you insight into all this." 2 Timothy 2:1-7
Ok, so I put a relatively sizable chunk of Scripture on us today, but I needed it all.
This week, as I was following the reading plan that connected to Brett Burleson's message from this past Sunday (www.thechapel.com to see it - very good teaching), the above Scripture was the first one for the week. From the standpoint of spiritual formation, which was the intent of the message, I looked at some things that were true from this passage about my personal spiritual formation. But, I had to answer a question in my conversation with God to get at what I felt like I needed to learn.
The question was, "What do a soldier, an athlete, and a farmer have in common?" I realized that these examples were used in this passage for a reason, but I needed to understand their connection better. Though there are probably many more connections than I will mention, I feel as if God showed me two primary connections between all three of them:
1. Discipline - It seems pretty obvious that a soldier needs discipline. My dad was a Marine, so I know the stories of what you had to do in Officer Candidate School or in Boot Camp. If you did not become disciplined you simply could not be a Marine. The same is true of an athlete. Having watched the Olympics recently, these athletes train for years to compete at very high levels, and, as a result, they must discipline their exercise, diet, time, and mental energy to attain their goals. And for anyone who had grown up on, or near, a farm.....well, it's not like farmers are lazy and sleep late. Often they are up at the crack of dawn to get the work done that is necessary, so they must discipline themselves for this kind of labor.
2. Patience - While all of these examples must be disciplined, they must also be patient. Soldiers train and train, and most often they do alot more training than they do real combat (prayerfully). Same for an athlete. Those men and women who run in the 110 meter race, which lasts 9 or 10 seconds, are training and training and training for days, weeks, and years to get the opportunity to run for a few seconds well. And what of the farmer. He must till, plant, water, fertilize, and.......................wait. He can't force the growth of the vegetables, or plants, or crops - he has to wait on them to mature for harvest.
As I saw these things come into perspective, I realized that my spiritual formation is very similar. For me to really get to know God, I need to put myself into a place of abiding in his presence. It is spiritual "disciplines" like Scripture reading and memorization, prayer, service, sharing my faith, and giving that allow me the vehicle to know God more intimately. The disciplines aren't the "thing", they are just vehicles to promote intimacy with the Father.
But I also realized that even as I practice the presence of God through the vehicle of some spiritual disciplines that my life, much the fruit of a tree, won't mature overnight. I must be patient to allow God to work in, and through, and around me in ways that are consistent with His purposes. Microwave spiritual growth is just not the pattern of God.
So, I hope that today you will embrace discipline - not as a religious activity (or some form of self-punishment, "I've been a little slack in my faith this week, so I have to memorize the book of Leviticus by lunch"), but as an opportunity to know God intimately. He is the point of the discipline. With that, I also hope you will be patient. What God wants to do in and through and with us is so precious that it takes time to develop. The beauty, and texture, and richness of our transformation is not found in a few minutes on a Tuesday. It is found in a long journey of obedience in the same direction.
