Christian’s life is gaining a new life in Christ. It is also about leaving behind an old way of life. And it also has to do with the art of relinquishment.
The English medieval Christian mystic Richard Rolle made this
challenge: “Take heed also: to seek more than enough is foul covetousness; to keep back necessaries is frailty; but to forsake all things is perfectness.”83
All of this is a challenge for us Christians in the twenty-first
century. We think we never have enough. We believe what is ours is for us alone. And we have the idea that God is supposed to give us things, not us giving anything to God.
It is true the Christian life is about receiving much: salvation, the gift of eternal life, the gift of the Spirit. But it is also about giving. Living the Christian life has to do with giving ourselves to God and to the purposes of God’s kingdom and to the love and service of the neighbor.
In giving ourselves to God and the neighbor we learn the art of
relinquishment. For some this is being generous with financial resources. For others it is being hospitable. For others again it is mentoring or helping others. For some it is not marrying. For others it is relinquishing a career trajectory. For some it is giving all of one’s possessions.
There is no formula here, only acts of love and generosity and self-giving. Here the manifold promptings of the Spirit come to startling clarity in the various ways in which we can honor God.
Thought
In self-giving we follow the way of Christ.
Luke 12:31
March 25
The Seeking Heart
Living the Christian life is receiving the grace of God in Christ. It is living a life of faith, discipleship, and service. It is participating in the Christian church and it is living in the hope of a new heaven and a new earth. But it also has to do with the seeking heart.
In the modern world it does not take much for us to become bored and disinterested. This can be in our love life, our jobs, our interests, our
relationships, and even in our life of faith.
At this point in the twenty-first century there are many Christians, in the West at least, who are quite bored with the church, hardly ever read Scripture, and have no interest in theological reflection. They are only
interested in God being the magical extra in their lives.
Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.
Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».
Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.
Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.
