Building Better Devotionsনমুনা

Devoted Together

“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” [1]

We live in a highly individualistic culture. As one of my friends likes to quip, the “I” (armed with the “i-Phone”) has replaced the “I AM“ (Exodus 3:14).

Following Jesus easily becomes about “me” being happy more than about “us” finding our life in relation to the great “I AM.”

Years ago, I went for a walk around Calgary’s reservoir with my friend Spencer. I’d been developing devotional habits (with success and failure) for several years. I told him that we needed to start meeting together regularly. I confessed the limits of my willpower and that I believed we’d follow Jesus more faithfully if we did it alongside each other. We’d meet at Denny’s, memorize Scripture, and learn to follow Jesus together.

I was just being logical at the time. This seemed the best way to follow Christ. I didn’t realize how deeply biblical this was.

Among the greatest pitfalls of cultivating a devotional life is trying to do it alone. Acts 2 tells the story of an early Church that naturally adopted corporate devotion. Read those verses and note the impact of their shared way of life.

We cannot live a devoted life alone.

Men must learn to seek Christ together. This means serving and participating in a church. It means praying together, eating together, worshipping, laughing, and mourning together.

An impactful change at my church has been adopting a church-wide Bible reading plan on YouVersion. Many of us read the same passages each day, and there is a place to comment on what we learned. Several people read the Bible more frequently since we started doing this together. One recently told me that we can never stop doing this!

Our hardwiring will rebel against mutual devotion. There are an infinite number of excuses and exceptions in this cultural moment. Some are legitimate—some. Most men would find that we live a more devoted life if we’d overcome the inconveniences of group activity and return to cultivating a life of shared devotional practice.

Jon Tyson says it as well as anyone:

“I am basically convinced that without a shared Rule of Life, based on tangible practices, discipleship won’t happen in a Western context. Radical individualism and consumerism are simply too overwhelming as seductive forces for individual Christians to resist.” [2]

Prayer: Lord, free me from my selfishness and relentless isolation. Increase my love for Your people. Help me love, submit to, and follow You with others. Show us how to do it together for the sake of Your glory. Amen.

Reflection: Where do you already have shared devotional practices (like attending church)? Where might you cultivate new shared devotional practices? Are there any people you could see beginning this with?

[1] A proverb of disputed origin

[2] I heard this quote in a sermon, so I can’t give a precise source.