Are you being spiritually fed?
I want to share several things that you can do to make sure you are being spiritually fed.
First, love. As simple as that.
Now that makes sense – we all want to be loved. And being loved makes us feel good. We feel supported by others when they love us.
But that is not exactly what the author of Ephesians has in mind.
He is not talking about the love you receive, but the love you give.
In our New Testament lesson for today, the writer says, "As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love."
Love is central to everything written in the Gospels. It is foundational to everything else in the Christian experience. If you want to grow in your faith, if you want to feed and nurture your spiritual life, then learn to love others.
In Matthew (Matt 22:36-40), a man approaches Jesus and asks, "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?"
Jesus replied: "’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ’Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
Man!
Is this boring or is it just me?
Don’t answer that!
It’s just that we are always talking about love in the church, and it is getting a bit boring.
I mean, if there is one thing we know how to do in the Christian Church, it is love.
Right?
Maybe.
Maybe not.
Have you heard about the fellow who sold his soul on ebay? Hemant Mehta offered his soul on ebay. Actually, he didn’t sell his soul – he rented it. For every $10 the winning bid paid, Mehta would spend one hour in a church of the buyer’s choice. He promised to go with an open mind and he promised to conduct himself in a respectful manner.
Retired pastor Jim Henderson won the soul – but instead of selecting his own church, he asked Mehta to pick a different place of worship every week. The plan was they would go together and Mehta would share his impressions with the retired pastor.
Mehta said he was surprised at what he discovered in the churches. They were energetic and dynamic places. People cared about each other. The preaching was interesting. He loved the live music.
What he didn’t like, however, was how Christians talk so badly about other people. Christians regarded Muslims as terrorists. When Christians talked about gays, they talked with hatred. There was racist talk in the Sunday School discussions. (Leadership Magazine, Summer 2006)
Maybe love is easier to talk about, than to do.
It’s time we begin to do more than talk about love. It is time for us to do it.
If you come to church and think, “My soul isn’t being fed” – maybe it is because you aren’t loving others.
Notice, what is important is not so much that we find someone to love us. What is important is that we love others.
In the motion picture, Marvin’s Room, there are two sisters who have been estranged for many years. When one of them is diagnosed with cancer, the other sister arrives to help take care of her. In one of the final scenes of the movie, the two sisters are talking about their lives, and the one with cancer says, "I’m so lucky. I’m so lucky. I’ve had so much love in my life."
"Yes, yes," the other sister agrees, barely looking at her sister while she cleans the kitchen. "You’ve always had people around you who loved you."
"Oh no," the other sister says with a look of surprise. "I’m lucky because I’ve been able to love so many people."
It is the loving of others that nurtures our souls.
John said in one of his letters (I Jn 3:10), "This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother."
Whenever someone says, "I’m not being fed," I wonder if that person is trying to love others.
You want to nurture your soul?
Then renew your vow to God that you will love others.
A second step to spiritual nurture is to study the Word of God.
In the New Testament lesson, the author wrote about how we should work toward spiritual growth "until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature..."
On the front of our bulletin covers we list Seven Marks of Discipleship. Your elders have approved a list this list a few years ago in the hopes that every elder and every member of our church should be demonstrating and living out these 7 marks. One of these marks is reading the Bible on a daily basis.
And that mark of discipleship can be clearly seen in this New Testament text.
Becoming spiritually mature is dependent on building up a knowledge of the Son of God through the study of Scripture.
In the Old Testament, the Psalmist says (Ps 119:11), "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you."
If you want to grow spiritually, then study and read the Word of God.
In the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy, there is a wonderful imagery of the study of God’s Word. In chapter 11, the writer says, (Deut 11:18-20), "Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates."
Imagine that imagery being practiced. You wake up in the morning, and you leave the house, and there on the doorframe is a Scripture verse. As you drive out of your community, there is a sign on the gate that has a Bible verse. While you are riding in your car, you are talking with others about the Bible. As you type on your computer, you see the Word of God because you have, as Deuteronomy said, "tied them on you hands and bound them on your forehead." At the end of the day, you return home and as you enter the house, there is the Bible verse on your doorframe. The Bible saturates your whole day -- your life.
If you want to grow spiritually, then renew your commitment to study God’s Word.
The third step in spiritual growth is practice what is preached!
Don’t just study God’s Word. Live God’s Word.
Jesus said in Matthew’s Gospel (Matt 7:24), "Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock."
St. Paul wrote to the Phillipians (Phil 4:9), "Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me-- put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you."
If you want to grow physically, then you must exercise. The same is true with the spiritual life. If you want to grow spiritually, then you must exercise and practice the lifestyle of the Christian.
In our New Testament lesson, the writer says that we are to "live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love."
You want to grow spiritually? Then renew your commitment to act like a spiritually grown up by putting into practice the things you learn from Scripture.
A fourth step toward spiritual growth is to be in a Christian fellowship and to work for the unity of that church.
You cannot grow in the spiritual life in solitude from others. Christianity is, by its very nature, a community of faith. Spiritual friendship is one of the other spiritual marks we will be learning about in the weeks ahead.
In our New Testament lesson, the writer says that if we are to grow, then we need to (Eph 4:3), "Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace."
This is so important, that the author comes back to the thought later in the reading, calling on his audience to build up the body of Christ "until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature." (verse 13)
You cannot grow in faith in solitude.
There is an old story about a minister who went to visit one of his absent parishioners. It was in the cold months of winter and when the man arrived at the home, there was a warm fire in the den. The minister and the parishioner sat by the fire as the minister tried to convince the man to be more faithful in attendance at worship. But the man insisted that he could worship God just as well in his home, next to his fire. The man looked at the minister and said, "Give me one good reason why worshipping with others is any better than worshipping alone in one’s home."
The minister quietly took one of the burning embers of the firewood and sat it aside, several inches from the center of the heat. Within a few moments, the embers, which had been red hot, cooled to a gray ash.
An ember next to other embers stays hot. By itself, it loses its heat.
A Christian involved with others stays spiritually active. By ourselves, our spirits die.
We need the church to build up one another. To encourage one another.
In the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon said, (Eccl 4:9-10) "Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!"
In Hebrews (10:24-25), the writer says, "let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another."
There is one final step toward spiritual growth. Service!
Jesus said in Matthew’s Gospel, (20:25-28) "whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave--just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
There is a legend about a man who had a vision of heaven and one of hell.
The vision of hell showed a great table and a vast assortment of wonderful food. But in the vision, no one was able to eat. No one could bend their elbows, so their hands could not reach the food and take it to their mouths. In misery they were struggling and suffering.
The vision of heaven was exactly the same. A great table. The assortment of food. The unbending arms. But in this vision, the people were being fed. They had learned that while they could not feed themselves, they could feed one another. It is through service to others that they were fed.
And the same is taught in Scripture. We grow spiritually by serving others.
In our New Testament lesson, the writer talks about how we grow and are built up as "each part (of the church) does its work."
Copyright 2004, 2006, Dr. Maynard Pittendreigh
All rights reserved.
