As I sat in church this morning and took communion, I was again amazed at the "teaching" to take the bread and drink the cup in rememberance of our Lord... The pastor went on to say, (as often is said), that durig the busy-ness of our schedules we are commanded to do this. Isn't the bread the symbol of Christ's body, and the wine his blood? Doesn't this represent the physical-ness of Jesus' sacrifice for us, the giving of his physical, human being? Should we not then be living for Him in our everyday, physical lives, not just dedicating a Sunday or so to Him? Too often we tend to seperate the spiritual from the physical, yet everything Jesus did or lived was a physical expression of his Spiritual condition... We can't daily emulate Jesus Christ if we confine our "spirituality" to Church, or Sundays... We must learn to live each moment of each day embracing the physical example of Jesus Christ, so that when that moment of decision comes, the time for critical action arrives, we react out of our discipline of following Him instead of our natural or carnal desires... Indeed, the outflowing of "works" is a natural result of living a discplined life that emulates Jesus, and difuses the argument of "faith vs works"... The two are interrelated and co-dependant on each other in the "Spirit-filled" life.
Until we learn the correlation between the physical and the spiritual we cannot expect to experience the kind of abundant life God promises to his children...
5 comments:
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Hi Bud;
You said, We must learn to live each moment of each day embracing the physical example of Jesus Christ, so that when that moment of decision comes, the time for critical action arrives, we react out of our discipline of following Him instead of our natural or carnal desires...
My question is: How de we embrace the physical example of JESUS CHRIST, even essuming that we have all the power of God?
Hi Anonymous...
Very good question, and I would answer it using this analogy...
We've all seen kids out on the playground, playing ball, and pretending to be their favorite sports hero. Yet as they play they don't throw, or run, or hit as well as their hero. Why? Because their hero has embraced a disciplined lifestyle, one of diet, exercise, and practice to learn to hit and run and throw as well as he/she does, and when that moment of critical response comes, that time for action, their muscles act out of a natural response, out of hours, and days, and years of training. Likewise, Jesus acted out of a disciplined lifestyle of prayer, and fasting, and solitude, acts of service, and worship. When the time came for him to act it was naturally grounded in a life lived in the Spirit... All too often we dabble in Spiritual disciplines but don't commit ourselves completely to them. The key to acting appropriately when there's a call to action, when a critical response is needed, comes from commitment to the same disciplines that Jesus practiced. If we want to run, and hit, and throw like Jesus then we need to practice like Jesus... I hope this answers your question...
Bud
Hi again Bud;
OK let us say that I have had lots of practice, and I know what to do etc., the question is: Does practice make for perfect response at the critical moment?
I mean;- how do I avoid a fumble, or an interception from the opposing team?
Hi Anonymous.
Well, practice does indeed increase the chances of doing things right, and, while there's the chance we can slip up, for we are human, the odds are greatly increased that we will respond in the like manner of our practice habits. It's like playing the piano; the more you practice a piece the easier, more natural, and more perfect we are able to play it. Even under the stress of performing at a recital the piece can be played flawlessly- thanks to hours of practice. The mind is tuned, the body trained and conditioned, and the results are (most often) favorable...
We have to be aware of those who play against us, who desire us to fail; but awareness and preperation are the greatest assets in overcoming them as obstacles... Thank-you for your time and questions. I enjoy your input.
Bud
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