// October 15th, 2008 // No Comments » // Uncategorized
“Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness” – 1 Timothy 4:7 (NASB)
Avenues of Grace
In traditional European parks, an “avenue” is a straight path neatly flanked on both sides by rows of trees, which leads to a landscape, dwelling or architectural feature in the center. Stemming from the French verb venir (“to come”), the word avenue emphasizes “arrival” at a specific destination within the park. These avenues reflected the centrality of a particular feature in the landscape, and also served as plumb-lines around which the rest of the park/garden was organized. In a general sense, an avenue is defined as a means of access or approach (e.g. avenues of research, of thought, of wealth).
The Spiritual Disciplines are the avenues of Grace that God has provided to guide us to the Cross of Jesus Christ, the perfect revelation of God’s glorious transforming grace, where all of the power and beauty of the Christian life is centered and sourced. A deep, abiding, and growing relationship with Christ is the primary goal of the Christian life, and the source from which all fruit – love of neighbor, discipleship, mercy, justice, etc. – emanates. Saints of the faith have widely practiced these disciplines for centuries, though many perceive that they have been forgotten and solely preserved in monastic communities. But in fact, the early church fathers, the Puritan writers, and Jesus Christ Himself left us a rich heritage of theology to draw from, and we would be wise to consider their teaching in light of our own spiritual growth.
A Cross-Centered Journey
It is exceedingly important to emphasize that the Spiritual Disciplines are pathways to the Cross. There has been a contemporary resurgence in the popularity of disciplines and exercises as means of spiritual growth and formation. Unfortunately, many teachings on the subject have strayed far from biblical truth into realms of eastern mysticism and New-Age teaching. For the sake of being relevant to post-modern culture and trends toward contemplative spirituality, some have made the destination something other than Jesus, or twisted the pathway out of alignment with sound doctrine and biblical teaching. In order to stay true to the Gospel, the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints (Jude 1:3), we must use the Bible’s teaching on these disciplines as a plumb-line, a true north, to which all practice must be aligned. In the book “A Quest for Godliness,” J.I Packer writes,
“The traveller through the Bible landscape misses his way as soon as he loses sight of the hill called Calvary.”
Every spiritual discipline – from prayer to meditation to worship – must point us to the Cross, since the message of our redemption, ransom, victory, and freedom in Christ is the central identity of every Christ-follower, to be on display in every aspect of life, embedded in every practice and pursuit.
The Road to Life
Richard Foster, in his classic book, “Celebration of Discipline,” likens the spiritual disciplines to a narrow ridge with a sheer drop-off on either side: there is the abyss of trust in works on one side and the abyss of faith without deeds on the other. On the ridge there is a path, the disciplines of the spiritual life. We must always remember that the path does not produce change; it only places us where the change can occur. We are not competent to run our own lives until we realize that we are not competent to run our own lives (Tim Keller). There is a road in life that appears to be a dead end, called the End of Yourself. It is at times a dark road, filled with fear and questioning, yet it is there at the end of the road, that we meet Jesus. What is seemingly a dead end is in fact the road to life (Jn 14:6; Mt 11:28,29). The key to the Christian life is to stay on this road, the End of Yourself, following Jesus, giving up your map for his map (2 Cor 5:21; Gal 2:20; Mt 16:24,25) for it is there that we most clearly see our sin and only there we experience the grace of God. (For more on the Christian life as allegory, see John Bunyan’s “Pilgrim’s Progress”).
The Way of Jesus
Jesus practiced the spiritual disciplines. He spent entire nights with God without sleeping, went off alone into the dessert to fast and seek communion with God, took off early in the morning to be alone with God, memorized scripture, prayed all the time, served, evangelized, meditated on God’s word, etc… throughout his ministry. Jesus was a missionary sent into a particular place and time to do the will of the Father, and he was blessed with the Holy Spirit to do ministry. The spiritual disciplines were the means by which Jesus received God’s empowering and persevering grace by the Spirit to do His work on the Cross. After his resurrection, Jesus commissioned his disciples to continue in his wake, he said “As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” Jesus is calling us to not only continue his mission, but also to imitate his life. This is an invitation for us to cultivate the kind of life in which God can bring change, to train ourselves in the disciplines for growing in the likeness of Christ. As we grow up into this identity by His grace, God transforms us into “sent” and “sending” people, enabling us to guide others down these pathways.
Sowing to the Spirit
In Celebration of Discipline, Foster also uses the metaphor of a field to illustrate the purpose of disciplines. A farmer is helpless to grow grain; all he can do is provide the right conditions for the growing of grain. He cultivates the ground, he plants the seed, he waters the plants, and then natural forces of the earth take over and up comes the grain. This is the way it is with the Spiritual Disciplines–they are a way of sowing to the Spirit. The spiritual disciplines are, “a means of receiving God’s grace. …[They] allow us to place ourselves before God so he can transform us.” The task for us, then is to cultivate our daily lives into fertile ground in which God can bring growth and change. This is what the spiritual disciplines are all about.
Means to Godliness, Not Ends
If we approach them incorrectly, the spiritual disciplines meant to bring life may become laws that lead to death. In the book, “A God Entranced Vision of All Things,” Donald Whitney writes: “Apart from faith and the right motives when practicing them, the disciplines can be dead works. The purpose for practicing the spiritual disciplines is not to see how many chapters of the Bible we can read or how long we can pray, nor is it found in anything else that can be counted or measured.” Legalism has a nasty way of creeping in and turning the means of these practices into ends in themselves. How do we avoid that danger? Constantly remember the purpose of the spiritual disciplines. Listen to Jesus. Ask God to point out where you have begun to pursue the disciplines rather than Him, and He will make it known to you. The Holy Spirit, as Jesus said, will guide us in all truth. Remember that change is God’s work, not yours. Again, Foster’s words are helpful: The spiritual disciplines are, “a means of receiving God’s grace. …[They] allow us to place ourselves before God so he can transform us.”
Reflection
Your practice of spiritual disciplines will require an alteration of life-as-usual. You will approach your life with these two questions:
1) What am I currently not doing that, if I were doing, would open myself up more to God’s work of grace in my life?
2) What am I currently doing that, if eliminated, would open myself up more to God’s work of grace in my life?
For Further Study
1) The gospels are full of examples of Jesus both teaching and practicing disciplines. Read through John and make a note of the examples you find.
2) Richard Foster said, “Superficiality is the curse of our age.” John Ortberg said that our greatest enemy in the spiritual life is Hurry. How are hurry (busy-ness) and superficiality related? Are you under the curse of superficiality?
Directed Prayer
1. Give thanks to God for the truth that his salvation affects all parts of life.
2. Ask God to show you ways in which you resist or simply neglect the spiritual disciplines and ask him to awaken a deeper desire for them.
3. Pray that you will begin to see more and more ways in which the gospel liberates you from living your life and doing your work the way everyone else does. Pray that God will enable you to approach life as a disciple, a steward, and a servant, pursuing spiritual growth and maturity by His grace and for His glory rather than your own.
”The Wanderer” by Caspar David Friedrich
