A recent conversation with another member of this blog got me thinking again about the approach we take toward discipleship and holy living. In the conversation, I said something to the effect that "everything that takes place in life needs to point us back toward God." That can only happen - and it will necessarily happen - when we see all of life through the lenses of discipleship.
In the Bible, we are called to "pray unceasingly." In the book The Practice of the Presence of God, Brother Lawrence writes about living all of life as service unto God. How can this be? We often think that to practice the spiritual disciplines, we need to block time out of "regular" life and devote time and energy toward pursuing these disciplines. That is true of many disciplines, particularly devotion, study, meditation, prayer, silence, fasting...However, all of life can be turned into discipline too.
An 18 hour layover in an airport becomes a silent retreat. Work and study become exercises in faithfulness and joy. The annoying co-worker or classmate presents an opportunity to grow in love and patience. Friendships offer the chance to place others above self. And as we are conscious of using our routine, mundane experiences to grow in our relationship and obedience toward God, we become more aware of the faults we have and of the habitual sins we need to repent of. We also find that the boring things in life develop meaning and purpose. We find that God is interested in the details of our lives we so often dismiss as unimportant.
All of life is discipleship, every activity in life a spiritual discipline.
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