Last week I talked about three non-negotiables in the life of a disciple: a systematic way of reading the Bible, continual prayer dialogue with God, and times of reflection. This week I want to talk about two results of these three disciplines.
In my early years as a Christian I saw Bible-reading and prayer as something to check off my Christian to-do list. Maybe it was the way I was raised as a believer but I saw myself as a Christian soldier, dutifully doing what a Christian does. Read the Bible…check. Prayer…check. (I sometimes think I would’ve been a good soldier in real life, then I remember that my vision is terrible and I’m asthmatic. I wouldn’t make a good soldier but I eventually made a great nerd.) What I failed to realize was the disciplines were a means to an end.
The first result is intimacy with God. Dr. Mike Palompo, in his book God Things, says the outcome of spiritual transformation is intimacy with God. Although the Bible is a divine book, it is not God, although some people treat it as such. The Bible is a means to get closer to God; to know His character, to recognize His hand, to see His heart for His glory to all nations. It’s like what I sometimes tell students, “The Bible is not the fourth person of the Trinity.” In my early years as a believer, I treated the Bible as God. I knew a lot about the Bible and theology, but it didn’t translate into a stronger love relationship with Him.
I like how Dr. Palompo describes intimacy with God – it’s like a dance with the Lord. There’s a partnership in the midst of rhythmic choreography with the Trinity. He uses a term, perichorisis, to describe this.
Sometimes we don’t have good leaders because leaders have not been taught during the discipleship years how to be intimate with the Lord. They read their Bibles, pray, and reflect, but they are not intimate with Him.
Prayer is also a way to develop intimacy with God. As an early believer, I did most of the taking during prayer time. I figured God was omnipotent so He could handle all my talking. What I failed to realize was that God wanted a relationship with me, which meant a dialogue between the two of us. I speak, He speaks, I think about what He just said, some questions, more dialogue, and so on. I find myself having conversations with God throughout the day, inviting Him into the car on my way to work, into the school as I drive up the parking lot, at my desk as I prepare to write, and so on.
The second result is integrity of character. Simply defined integrity means the inside and outside matches; there is a sense of wholeness. Integrity comes from the word meaning integer, or whole number. Who you are outside needs to reflect who you are inside. If those two things don’t match there is a lack of integrity. During times of reading the Word, prayer, and reflection, the Holy Spirit brings correction in a person’s life so one aligns with the Lord.
We are all in transformation, or as some would say, sanctification, becoming more and more like Christ. Thus, there are always areas that need correction. The Holy Spirit will use the quiet times to bring correction so we can be more like Christ. He may prompt us to say sorry to someone, to stop a bad habit, or give something away. He uses private times to align our hearts with the Lord. However, if we are not able to be corrected in private, listen carefully, He will correct us in public. This brings shame and humiliation. It is not the Lord’s intent to embarrass us but sometimes He will do that because we have not listened in private. This is the gracious hand of the Lord at work. He will correct us in private before He corrects us in public. Obey the Lord the first time.
Dr. Clinton has found that between the ages of 20-30, God is building the character of a future leader. What is important during these years is what He does IN you rather than what He does THROUGH you. Can a disciple learn to hear the voice of the Lord and obey? Can they do what the Lord says even though they may not understand it? If so, God can shape that disciple into a leader.
Many young people misplace their attention and think it’s all about ministry and service. I was like that during my youth ministry years. I had to run the games for the weekly meetings, visit the high school, teach a small group, think up questions for Sunday School Bible Quiz. Had I slowed down and paid attention, I would have seen what the Lord was trying to build in me: patience, perseverance, truthworthiness, and faithfulness. I would have noticed the need to develop my relationship with God rather than pour my energies into ministry. It’s like what I once heard from a wise woman, “Ministry is good, ministry is not God.”
Sometimes we don’t have good leaders because they are too busy doing ministry and not noticing God’s character formation. They become desensitized to the voice of God because of the noise of ministry. They choose to ignore God’s correction in private and thus must be corrected in public.
Questions to Think About:
Are your times with God building an intimate relationship with Him? Do you need to cut back on ministry so you can “dance” with God?
Are you sensitive to the corrective hand of the Lord during your quiet times? Is there an area the Lord said you need to deal with but have been ignoring it?
© Gary Lau 2013
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