Eternity Is Now Sample

If you wanted to run a marathon, would you just wake up one day and go for it? Would you just go out there and give it your best? Probably not. If you had some level of physical fitness, you might make it, but it would be incredibly difficult. Running a marathon with ease takes months and months of preparation and practice. 

You don’t grow and progress in something by simply trying harder. That’s not how life works. Yet, many people treat following Jesus this way. You hear about being more loving, patient, or forgiving and you just go out and think that if you try harder to be more loving or patient, it will happen. But, how’s that working? 

You can’t will yourself to become better or more like Jesus. If we don’t become more like Jesus through trying harder then how do we do it? In the words of Jesus, it’s by “remaining in the vine”. In the words of Paul, it’s by “training”. How do we remain in the vine and train? 

Through the practices of Jesus (better known as spiritual disciplines). We look at what Jesus did and we model our lives after Him. 

Jesus talked to God through prayer, read and memorized Scripture, fasted, and lived generously, simply, and slowly. He did life with others in community, went to the Synagogue, rested, and did a whole host of other things that helped him stay connected to God. If we want to become more like Jesus, it makes sense for us to do the kinds of things that Jesus did. 

Which practices of Jesus are already part of your routine (the fact that you’re reading this suggests reading Scripture may be one)? Are there any new practices you can implement into your normal rhythm to grow closer to Him?